Rosanio Ties Career-High But Women's Basketball Falls To Charlotte, 67-60

Jan. 28, 2007

AMHERST, Mass. -- Charlotte (15-7, 6-1 A-10) used a 32-14 second-half run to erase an 11-point Massachusetts (12-10, 2-5) lead and escape with a 67-60 win Sunday afternoon in front of 1,002 fans at the Mullins Center. UMass led by 11 points with 17:50 left in the second half, but saw Charlotte go on a 32-14 run in the next 10:51 to come from behind for the win. The 49ers shot 61 percent in the second half. Junior Pam Rosanio (Southampton, Pa.) tied her career-high with 24 points and added seven rebounds for the Minutewomen. Junior Kate Mills (Elkton, Md.) poured in 16 points and eight rebounds while senior Tamara Tatham (Bramton, Ontario) grabbed a team-best 11 boards. UMass shot 38 percent from the floor for the game and out-rebounded Charlotte, 46-37. Charlotte finished the game shooting 38 percent and had just 10 turnovers while UMass committed 18.

UMass started off just 3-for-17 from the field and had six turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game as Charlotte built up an early seven-point lead. It was 15-8 Charlotte when the Minutewomen reeled off seven straight points to tie the game at 15 and force a Charlotte timeout with 8:29 left. UMass continued the run after the timeout and opened up its largest lead of the game at 21-17 with 5:44 left in the half. All told, it was a 13-4 UMass run in 5:14. The 49ers came right back, however, and scored five quick points to re-take the lead and force a UMass timeout with 4:24 left.

UMass responded with a 10-2 run over the last four minutes of the half to take a 31-24 lead into halftime. UMass finished the half making nine of its final 13 shots from the floor to finish at 40 percent for the half. The Minutewomen finished the half with nine turnovers and had a 29-21 edge on the glass. Charlotte shot 23 percent from the field and had just four turnovers.

Both teams started the second half on a frantic pace. Two straight baskets by Rosanio gave the Minutewomen their largest lead of the game at 35-24, but the 49ers came right back and used a 9-2 run in the next minute to cut UMass' lead to four points at 37-33 and force a timeout with 15:34 showing on the clock. Charlotte continued the run and when the dust settled the 49ers had a three-point lead, 47-44, with just under 12 minutes left. It was a 23-9 run in just over five minutes after the Minutewomen took an 11-point lead. It was a 14-2 run for Charlotte before Mills sank a pair of free throws at the 11:58 mark to end a four minute scoreless drought for the Minutewomen.

UMass re-took the lead at 49-47 following a Rosanio three-pointer, but Charlotte went on another 9-0 run to take a 56-49 lead and force another UMass timeout with 7:26 left in regulation. Mills ended the run with a basket at the 6:36 mark as the Minutewomen looked to make another run and re-take the lead.

UMass was unable to string together any defensive stops together and Charlotte still held onto a 66-58 lead with 2:29 left. A lay-up by Rosanio with 1:30 left cut Charlotte's lead to six points at 66-60 and the Minutewomen called timeout in desperate need of a defensive stop. The Minutewomen did just that as freshman Diatiema Hill (Queens, N.Y.) stole the ball in the back-court, but they were unable to turn it into points. On the ensuing possession, UMass forced a Charlotte miss, but the game clock was showing just 48 seconds now. The Minutewomen pushed the ball up the floor quickly, but sophomore Sakera Young (Glassboro, N.J.) missed a floater in the paint and the 49ers grabbed the rebound with just 36 seconds left.

UMass was forced to foul. Traci Ray went to the line and missed the front end of a 1-and-1. The Minutewomen got the rebound, but threw the ball away and Charlotte was able to hang on for the win. Mills and Rosanio were a combined 15-for-26 from the floor while the rest of the team was just 8-for-34. Hill grabbed a career-high eight rebounds while Young had seven points, five assists and three steals.

Traci Ray led Charlotte with 18 points. Sabrina Gregory added 12 as well. Charlotte was 7-for-23 from three-point range while the Minutewomen were just 1-for-11.

The Minutewomen head back out on the road for a pair of games next weekend. First up, UMass plays at Saint Joseph's on Friday, Feb. 2 at 7:00 PM and then heads to St. Bonaventure for a 1:00 PM on Sunday, Feb. 4. Both games will be broadcast live on WMUA, 91.1 FM in Amherst and online at www.umassathletics.com beginning 15 minutes prior to tip-off. Live stats are also available for both contests via the Gametracker link.

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