University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
( 6-9, 3-1)
Xavier
(12-3, 2-2)
Women's Basketball Falls, 68-60, To Xavier At Home
January 14, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2000
AMHERST, Mass. - Sophomore Nekole Smith (Ann Arbor, Mich.) tallied a team-high 20 points, on eight of 12 shooting from the field, in the University of Massachusetts, 68-60, loss to Xavier on Jan. 14 in Amherst, Mass. The Minutewomen snap a two-game winning streak with the loss and fall to 6-9 overall and 3-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Musketeers improve to 12-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference with the victory.
Freshman Jennifer Butler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) posted a double-double for the sixth time this season with 10 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to registering a team-high three steals. Senior Jaywana Bradley (Bronx, N.Y.) provided a nice spark off the bench, netting nine points and two steals. Sophomore Caroline Nehls (Randolph, N.J.) added seven rebounds, while junior Kathy Coyner (Belpre, Ohio) dished out a team-high nine assists.
Two Xavier players scored in double-figures in the game, with Taru Tuukkanen recording 17 points and Amy Waugh netting 13 points.
UMass jumped out to an early 11-6 lead in the first half, but two key runs by the Musketeers at the 14-minute mark and the four-minute mark, put Xavier up by eight at the half. The Musketeers tied the ball game up at 15-15 with an 8-4 spurt and closed out the half on a 10-0 run to finish on top, 35-27.
The Minutewomen could pull no closer than six points in the second half, committing nine fouls in the second half and falling to Xavier, 68-60, for the game.
"I told the team in the locker room that the one thing I wasn?t going to question was their effort," head coach Joanie O?Brien said. "We played extremely hard tonight. We needed to make the open shots we had. And if we did, we would have been back in the game. It came down to the free-throw line in the end and that was the difference in the game."
UMass is next in action on Jan. 16 versus Dayton at noon in the Mullins Center. The game will be broadcasted by the Atlantic 10 Network on Fox Sports New England.
