University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
8-11, 2-5 A-10
Richmond
12-7, 4-2 A-10
Turnovers Plague UMass In Loss At Richmond, 64-44
January 24, 2015 | Women's Basketball
RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Massachusetts women's basketball team struggled with turnovers and was unable to rebound from a first half scoring drought in a 64-44 loss at Richmond's Robins Center Saturday afternoon. Cierra Dillard and Amber Dillon led the Minutewomen with nine points each, but UMass gave the ball away 22 times, which resulted directly to 22 Richmond points.
Dillard ripped down a career-high nine rebounds, tied with Rashida Timbilla for the game-high in the category. Timbilla also provided four steals and three assists in the loss.
Genevieve Okoro led the Spiders with 12 points while Liz Brown added 10 more. Okoro also paced Richmond with seven rebounds and Brown followed with six.
The Minutewomen earned a 13-10 lead as they hit six of their first 14 field goal tries, but Richmond's full-court press interrupted UMass' offensive flow and resulted in a six-point Richmond run. Kim Pierre-Louis stopped the streak with two at the foul line, but turnovers limited the Minutewomen while the Spiders expanded their advantage to 11 at 26-15 through an extended 16-2 run.
Dillard ended the UMass drought with a three-pointer that cut the margin to 26-18, but Richmond (12-7 overall, 4-2 Atlantic 10) scored the last seven points of the half for a 33-18 advantage at the break.
The Spiders continued to hit from all areas of the court and pushed their lead to 42-20 in the early minutes of the second half. Leah McDerment, who finished with eight points, swished a three-pointer to pull UMass within 19, but Richmond used an 11-4 run to extend its lead to 53-27.
A late push by Dillon and Emily Mital cut it back to an 18-point margin as the duo combined to put together an 11-3 streak as Mital spread the floor with a pair of triples and Dillon cut to the hoop or pulled up for jump shots. Mital's second three-point made it 56-36 before Dillon sank a fastbreak layup at the three-minute, 36-second mark; however, that was as close as UMass came down the stretch.
Massachusetts shot 32.1 percent overall (18-of-56) with a 33.3 conversion rate on threes (5-of-15). Richmond went 22-for-50 from the floor (44.0 percent), including 7-for-16 from beyond the arc (43.8 percent). The Spiders finished 13-for-14 on free throws (92.9 percent) while the Minutewomen were 3-for-4 (75.0 percent).
The Minutewomen (8-11, 2-5) return to the Mullins Center for a Saturday, Jan. 31 contest against St. Bonaventure (11-9, 1-6). Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
