University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Women's Basketball Nets 70-53 Win Over Rhode Island
February 03, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2009
KINGSTON, R.I. - With the help of a career-high 22 points from senior Sakera Young, the UMass women's basketball team opened the month of February on a winning note, posting a 70-53 victory over Atlantic 10 rival Rhode Island on Tuesday evening in the Ryan Center. The Minutewomen are now 9-13 on the season and 2-5 in conference play, while the Rams fall to 9-13 and 2-5 in the A-10.
Young shot a blistering 8-11 from the field and went 6-for-11 at the free throw line, leading all scorers on the night with her first 20-point game of her career. She had four assists and four steals, as well. Sophomore Teya Wright followed with 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting, 14 of which came in the second half, and pulled down a game-best nine rebounds. Senior Stefanie Gerardot was the third UMass player to reach double figures with 12 points, while freshman Kristina Danella had nine points and seven rebounds and redshirt sophomore Diatiema Hill added six points.
The squads went basket-for-basket with each other over the first 10:36 of the contest, with the score being tied for the fifth time on a trey from Danella at 9:24. That three sparked a 10-0 run for the Minutewomen, which gave the squad its largest lead of the night to that point, seven, at 20-13. Four straight points by the Rams closed the gap to thee and UMass went on to lead at halftime by five at 28-23.
Rhode Island began the second period with a jumper by Sierra Cooper and a pair of free throws from Crystal Bellinger brought the Rams within one at 28-27 with 19:03 remaining. However, a 10-0 run that featured seven points by Young, immediately followed, breaking the game open for the Minutewomen.
Back-to-back threes by Megan Shoniker shrunk the UMass advantage to five at the 15:29 mark, but that would be as close as the Rams would come to overtaking the Minutewomen the rest of the way. UMass, which shot 55.6% (15-27) following the intermission, led by as many as 19, and finished 27-for-53 (50.9%) from the field on the night.
Rhode Island went 18-for-48 shooting overall (37.5%), 4-for-13 from three (30.8%) and 13-for-19 from the charity stripe (68.4%). The Minutewomen were 5-for-12 from beyond the arc (41.7%) and 11-for-14 at the free throw line (78.6%). UMass held a 39-22 advantage in points in the paint, led 17-12 in points off turnovers and 13-8 in second chance points.
Bellinger registered team-best 15 points for the Rams, aided by 7-for-8 shooting at the free throw line, and tallied six assists and four steals. Shoniker scored 14 and Tanja Licina chipped in with eight points and a squad-high six boards.
UMass will play its second straight on the road, next travelling to Dayton this Saturday, Feb. 7. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
