University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Providence
Providence Sneaks By Minutewomen, 59-56
December 31, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2007
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - After erasing a 14-point Friars lead, a Shantee Darrian 3-pointer with 16 seconds left spoiled the UMass comeback, as the Minutewomen (6-7) fell on the road to Providence (10-3), 59-56, in Monday afternoon's women's basketball game at Alumni Hall. Kate Mills (Elkton, Md.) paced UMass with 21 points, 15 of them coming in the second half. Alisha Tatham (Brampton, Ontario) added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting for the Minutewomen. Teya Wright (Paterson, N.J.) recorded her first double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds. Mi-Khida Hankins led the Friars with 20 points. After trailing by as many as 14 points with 2:00 left in the first half, UMass outscored PC, 33-21, for 19 minutes of the second half to take a 56-52 lead before the Friars scored the final seven points of the game.
The Friars jumped out to a 7-2 lead 3:27 into the game. Behind six points by Mills, the Minutewomen battled back to within three, 15-12, with 10:40 left in the half. Providence would go on to outscore UMass, 18-8, over the next 10:25. A 3-pointer by Kim Benton (Springfield, Pa.) with 15 seconds left in the half ended a drought of over seven minutes without a field goal for the Minutewomen and got them back within 10 points, 33-23, going into halftime.
UMass shot 37.5% (9-24) in the first half, to 34.3% (12-35) for Providence. The Minutewomen held the advantage on the glass, 23-20, but were hurt by 14 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Tatham led UMass with eight points and six rebounds, while Mills added six points and five rebounds. The Friars were led in the first half by Holmes' 13 points.
In the second half, the Minutewomen used a 10-2 run capped off by a Tatham layup, to make it a 39-33 game with 14:31 left. Two free throws by Sakera Young (Glassboro, N.J.) gave UMass its first lead of the game, 49-48, with 5:29 left. That finished off a 10-0 run in which UMass held Providence without a field goal for 6:50. The Friars took the lead back, but a 3-point play by Mills with 2:10 left gave the Minutewomen the lead back, 54-52. After the teams traded one basket each, Darrian hit a three from the right wing that put the Friars back ahead, 57-56, with 16 seconds left. UMass was unable to score on the ensuing possession and PC converted on two free throws with 6.5 seconds left to go up two, 59-56. After stealing the inbounds pass and being fouled, Kendria Holmes missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Tatham's desperation 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt fell short, allowing Providence to escape with the 59-56 victory.
For the game, UMass shot 46.8% (22-47) to Providence's 34.4% (22-64). The Minutewomen held a slight edge in rebounding, 39-37. UMass committed 26 turnovers, while the Friars had 13.
The Minutewomen return to action on Thursday, when they host the Longwood Lancers. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
