University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
9-14, 3-8 A-10
George Mason
12-12, 4-7 A-10
Minutewomen Fight By George Mason In Overtime, 85-79
February 11, 2015 | Women's Basketball
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AMHERST, Mass. - Four Minutewomen scored in double-figures, led by Kim Pierre-Louis' 27 points as UMass women's basketball shot 55.2 percent after halftime to fight back for an 85-79 victory over visiting George Mason in overtime at the Mullins Center Wednesday afternoon.
Rashida Timbilla tallied 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks while Emily Mital shot 4-of-9 for 12 points and dished out a pair of assists. Cierra Dillard rounded out the Minutewomen in double-figures with 11 points, all of which were scored in the second half.
Taylor Brown, the leading scorer in the Atlantic 10 entering the game, provided 30 points for George Mason as she finished 8-for-20 on field goals and 9-of-10 at the foul line. Kristi Mokube added a double-double through 12 points and as many rebounds as the Patriots won the battle of the boards, 49-36.
Brown nailed one of her five triples with 26 seconds left in regulation to tie the contest at 72-72 and force the extra period. However, the Minutewomen never trailed during the deciding stanza after Timbilla won the opening tip before she converted at the hoop on the first possession.
With Mason looking to tie the game once again, Timbilla stole play from Qierra Murray and fed the ball to Leah McDerment near the hoop. McDerment was fouled and went to the line, where she calmly sank two attempts to bump the lead to 76-72.
McDerment's conversions started a streak where UMass made three of its first four free throws during overtime and finished with nine made foul shots in the frame to keep the game out of reach for Mason.
The Minutewomen forced play into the paint in the second half and put George Mason over the foul limit with 11 minutes, 26 seconds still to play in the game, but were unable to hold the lead down the stretch after the squad pulled ahead by as many as six points.
With UMass in front, 69-63, after a Kymber Hill layup with 3:46 remaining, Brown knocked the deficit down to one with six consecutive made free throws separated by one conversion at the foul line by Pierre-Louis.
Pierre-Louis jumped the lead back to three on a layup with 41 seconds remaining, but Brown found space on the right side for a fade-away three 15 seconds later to even play and force the extra time.
Both teams struggled on offense during the opening minutes. The Minutewomen missed their first nine field goal attempts, but rebounded with a 6-for-10 stretch, capped by a Timbilla steal and fastbreak layup for a 14-12 lead at the 11:49 mark.
Mason, which started 6-of-18, found its shooting stroke on the other end and used an eight-point streak to pull ahead, 23-16 with 7:46 left in the half. Reana Mohamed and Brown keyed the run with a three-pointer each before Mokube capped it with two at the foul line.
The Patriots (12-12 overall, 4-7 Atlantic 10) held their lead above five until McDerment, who finished with eight points and as many assists, found space in the paint for a layup that cut the deficit to 43-40 with 16:04 left.
McDerment added a jumper 34 seconds later to neutralize a Mokube layup on the other end, but Brown hit back-to-back triples to extend George Mason's lead back to nine points, 51-42.
The Minutewomen shot 41.4 percent overall (29-of-70), but were 14-for-27 in the second half (51.9 percent) before the made both field goal tries in overtime. George Mason finished 26-of-67 from the floor (38.8 percent) but hit only one of seven attempts in the extra stanza (14.3 percent).
As a team, Massachusetts forced George Mason into 22 turnovers, which resulted in 22 UMass points, while the Minutewomen only committed a season-low nine on the other end. The Maroon and White also won the battle in the paint, 36-26, which included a 20-12 margin in the category during the second half.
Massachusetts hosts its annual Pink Day during its next contest, a Saturday, Feb. 14 game against Duquesne at 2 p.m. The Minutewomen will wear pink colored team gear to help raise awareness for breast cancer throughout the day.
