University of Massachusets Athletics
Sunday, November 20
Iowa City, Iowa
11:30 a.m. (CT)
University of Massachusetts
59
vs
58
Montana
Leidel’s Buzzer Beater Gives Women’s Hoops 59-58 Win Over Montana
November 20, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Minutewomen able to find game-winning three pointer in final 10 seconds of play.
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Freshman Hailey Leidel drilled a three-pointer as time expired to give the UMass women's basketball team a 59-58 win over Montana on Sunday afternoon at the Hawkeye Challenge. After leading the bulk of the contest, the Minutewomen (2-2) found themselves down by two with 10 seconds to go before Leidel was able to hit the game-winning shot.
Leidel finished the game with 18 points and eight rebounds to go alongside Maggie Mulligan's third straight double-double effort. Mulligan scored a game-high and career-high 24 points alongside a career-best 15 rebounds. Freshman Ryan Holder also reached double-figures with 12 points, while Leah McDerment had five assists, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Montana (1-2) was led by 15 points from Gabi Harrington and 12 points from Taylor Goligoski. Maddie Keast rounded out the top scorers with 11 points, while McKenzie Johnston had 10 rebounds.
After a tough shooting day against Iowa on Saturday, UMass bounced back to hit 22-of-58 field goal attempts including a 9-of-16 effort in the first quarter. Defensively, the Minutewomen held Montana to just 29.7 percent shooting (22-of-74) for the game, though the Lady Griz did hit 9-of-33 three pointers.
In the first quarter, UMass hit eight of its first nine field goals jumping out to an 18-4 lead at the 3:55 mark. Montana, however, responded with a 17-to-2 run bridging the first and second quarters to briefly take a 21-20 lead with 7:34 to go before halftime.
After a timeout by head coach Tory Verdi, the Minutewomen re-took the lead thanks to a 12-to-1 run sparked by six points from Mulligan. The junior center was huge in the second quarter where she scored eight points helping UMass to a 28-to-6 points in the paint advantage in the first half.
Mulligan had another eight points in the third quarter including four straight to start the stanza. The Lady Griz used an 10-to-2 run to pull within four, 42-38, with 5:13 to go, but UMass was able to extend the lead back to nine with a five-point run of its own.
The fourth quarter saw Montana hit the first eight points including a pair of threes from Gabby Harrington and Goligoski to tie the game 49 each with 8:10 to go.
A steal and lay-up by Ryan Holder followed by a nice entry feed by McDerment to set-up Mulligan for an easy lay-in giving UMass a 53-49 lead with 5:44 remaining.
After a long Jessica George jumper for the Minutewomen, Montana responded with a 6-to-0 run of its own to tie the game 55-55 at the 1:46 mark.
The Lady Griz took a 57-56 lead with 1:10 to go on a floater by Goligoski. UMass was able to get a stop on the next Montana possession.
With 18.7 seconds to go, UMass failed to convert after inbounding from the far sideline. A timeout by Montana advanced the ball to its half of the court and UMass fouled to put Johnston at the line. Johnston hit the first of two free throws with Mulligan corralling the rebound off the second miss.
Without any timeouts, UMass advanced the ball down the court with 10 seconds to go. After a couple of attempts to get open on the right wing, Leidel was finally able to get hold of the ball where she let loose a shot from the top of the key that went in at the buzzer.
The UMass bench erupted briefly as the referees went to the scorer's table to review the play. After the review the referees called the coaches to a huddle at midcourt. After the initial conference, coach Verdi turned back to the team raising his arms and shouting "It's Good!"
For complete coverage of the UMass women's basketball team, follow the Minutewomen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassWBB and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.
Leidel finished the game with 18 points and eight rebounds to go alongside Maggie Mulligan's third straight double-double effort. Mulligan scored a game-high and career-high 24 points alongside a career-best 15 rebounds. Freshman Ryan Holder also reached double-figures with 12 points, while Leah McDerment had five assists, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Montana (1-2) was led by 15 points from Gabi Harrington and 12 points from Taylor Goligoski. Maddie Keast rounded out the top scorers with 11 points, while McKenzie Johnston had 10 rebounds.
After a tough shooting day against Iowa on Saturday, UMass bounced back to hit 22-of-58 field goal attempts including a 9-of-16 effort in the first quarter. Defensively, the Minutewomen held Montana to just 29.7 percent shooting (22-of-74) for the game, though the Lady Griz did hit 9-of-33 three pointers.
In the first quarter, UMass hit eight of its first nine field goals jumping out to an 18-4 lead at the 3:55 mark. Montana, however, responded with a 17-to-2 run bridging the first and second quarters to briefly take a 21-20 lead with 7:34 to go before halftime.
After a timeout by head coach Tory Verdi, the Minutewomen re-took the lead thanks to a 12-to-1 run sparked by six points from Mulligan. The junior center was huge in the second quarter where she scored eight points helping UMass to a 28-to-6 points in the paint advantage in the first half.
Mulligan had another eight points in the third quarter including four straight to start the stanza. The Lady Griz used an 10-to-2 run to pull within four, 42-38, with 5:13 to go, but UMass was able to extend the lead back to nine with a five-point run of its own.
The fourth quarter saw Montana hit the first eight points including a pair of threes from Gabby Harrington and Goligoski to tie the game 49 each with 8:10 to go.
A steal and lay-up by Ryan Holder followed by a nice entry feed by McDerment to set-up Mulligan for an easy lay-in giving UMass a 53-49 lead with 5:44 remaining.
After a long Jessica George jumper for the Minutewomen, Montana responded with a 6-to-0 run of its own to tie the game 55-55 at the 1:46 mark.
The Lady Griz took a 57-56 lead with 1:10 to go on a floater by Goligoski. UMass was able to get a stop on the next Montana possession.
With 18.7 seconds to go, UMass failed to convert after inbounding from the far sideline. A timeout by Montana advanced the ball to its half of the court and UMass fouled to put Johnston at the line. Johnston hit the first of two free throws with Mulligan corralling the rebound off the second miss.
Without any timeouts, UMass advanced the ball down the court with 10 seconds to go. After a couple of attempts to get open on the right wing, Leidel was finally able to get hold of the ball where she let loose a shot from the top of the key that went in at the buzzer.
The UMass bench erupted briefly as the referees went to the scorer's table to review the play. After the review the referees called the coaches to a huddle at midcourt. After the initial conference, coach Verdi turned back to the team raising his arms and shouting "It's Good!"
For complete coverage of the UMass women's basketball team, follow the Minutewomen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassWBB and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F/C
/ Women's BasketballCoach Leflar on HUGE jump from year 1 to 2.
Monday, September 29
Plant the Flag with UMass WBB Coach Mike Leflar
Monday, September 29
Plant the Flag with UMass WBB Coach Mike Leflar
Monday, September 29
UMass WBB | Highlights vs Stonehill | 03.20.25
Thursday, March 20