University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Northeastern
Minutewomen Fall At Northeastern, 86-81
November 17, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2007
BOSTON - The UMass women's basketball team (2-1) suffered its first loss of the season, falling 86-81 to Northeastern (2-1) on Saturday afternoon at Solomon Court. Kate Mills (Elkton, Md.) tied her career-high with 28 points for the Minutewomen. Alisha Tatham (Brampton, Ontario) also tied her career-high with 14. Pam Rosanio (Southampton, Pa.) added 13 points for UMass, while freshman Teya Wright (Paterson, N.J.) almost recorded a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Ashlee Feldman led the Huskies with 21 points.
Northeastern shot 55 percent from three-point range in the game, going 11-20. UMass shot well from the field, 55.2 percent, but went only 2-10 from long-range.
It was a tight game in the early going. UMass went inside early with Mills scoring eight of the team's first 12 points. Meanwhile, the Huskies used the three-point shot to stay with the Minutewomen. A pair of Stefanie Gerardot (Fort Wayne, Ind.) free throws with 10:54 remaining in the opening half put UMass ahead 16-15.
Northeastern then put together a 13-0 run, highlighted by two Feldman three-pointers, putting the Huskies up, 28-16.
A Mills lay-in at 7:19 ended a UMass scoring drought that lasted 3:35 and began a 10-4 Minutewomen run that got them back within six, 32-26. Rosanio capped off the stretch with a steal on the defensive end and went coast-to-coast, making the lay-up despite getting fouled.
The first half ended with the Huskies taking a 39-31 lead into the locker room. Feldman led all scorers in the opening half with 13 points, going 3-4 from long-range, as the Huskies shot 7-12 (58.3%) as a team from behind the arc. Mills paced the UMass attack, tallying 12 points on 6-8 shooting.
Northeastern built on their lead to start the second half, using an 8-2 run over the first 2:57. The UMass deficit would eventually reach a high of 16 points with 13:45 remaining.
The Minutewomen used multiple defenses and balanced scoring to cut the lead from 16 down to as few as four at the 7:22 mark. That 6:05 stretch saw UMass outscore the Huskies, 18-6.
That's as low as the lead would get, as the Northeastern was able to match the Minutewomen basket-for-basket down the stretch and forcing them into a fouling situation. The Huskies were able to make the free throws they needed in the final minute to hold on to the 86-81 victory.
The Minutewomen return to action on Friday, Nov. 23, when they take on Jacksonville in the first round of the East Carolina Lady Pirate Invitational in Greenville, N.C. Winthrop and the host Pirates will round out the field.
