CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With four players reaching double-figures and Amanda Dowe grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds as part of a double-double, the Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball team dominated the visiting UMass Minutewomen, 80-58 on Wednesday night at Halton Arena. Charlotte (14-8; 6-2 A-10) shot 53.6% from the floor and grabbed 42 rebounds in the game to earn its eighth home victory and sixth in the Atlantic 10. With the loss, UMass falls to 6-16 on the year and 1-6 in the conference.
“It was a great team win,” head coach Cara Consuegra said. “It was great that we had four players score in double-figures. I felt that we responded to our tough practices this week with a really good defensive performance in the first half. Amanda Dowe really set the tone for us tonight with her effort. She grabbed 17 rebounds which is fantastic.”
Dowe, Jennifer Hailey, Ayanna Holmes and Jai Forney all reached double-figures, with Dowe leading the charge with 13 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Hailey also tallied 13, along with seven boards, while Holmes had a career-high 12 points and Forney scored 11. In addition, Epiphany Woodson, who was honored prior to the game for reaching her 1,000th career point, was just a point away from a double-figure scoring game.
UMass’s Jasmine Watson led all scorers with 24 points, adding a team-leading nine rebounds and three blocks. Tough to contain, Watson shot 9-for-14 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the free throw line.
The 49ers dominated just about every offensive category, looking strong from the opening tipoff. As a team, Charlotte out-rebounded Massachusetts, 42-24, including a 24-9 margin at the half. The Niners nearly doubled up the visitors in assists (16-9) and outshot them, 53.6% to 40.7% from the field. Charlotte also held an 18-8 advantage in points off turnovers and a 28-10 edge in bench points.
Two big first half runs gave the 49ers a comfortable 42-19 lead heading into halftime. Early in the first frame, Charlotte went on an 11-0 run to go up 14-6 at the 13:56 mark, with four different Niners contributing to the scoring surge. Later in the half, the home team went on another monster 14-0 run, not allowing Massachusetts to score for a stretch of 5:24 and extending their lead to 24 points, 37-13 with 2:31 to go in the half.
Dowe already had her double-double at the close of the half, leading the team with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Hailey followed with nine points and six boards. Charlotte outshot the visitors by an impressive margin, going 17-for-29 in the half for a percentage of 58.6% while the Niner defense held UMass to 33.3% shooting.
Charlotte took the pressure off a little in the second half, still holding on enough to retain a commanding lead throughout the frame. The Niners led by as many as 30 points in the second half before allowing UMass to creep back into the game. The Minutewomen made a 23-8 run midway through, pulling within 13 points, 65-52 with 5:28 left to play. But the 49ers put the game out of reach for good in the final five minutes, ahead by a solid 22 points as time expired.
Ny Hammonds hit her first three-pointer of the season with 3:30 remaining in the game, putting Charlotte back up by 18, 72-54. That bucket was just the second of her career from behind the arc.
The 49ers are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 4thas they take on Rhode Island at Halton Arena for Homecoming. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
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