VCU Fends Off Women's Hoops Rally, 55-52

RICHMOND, Va. – Despite a late fourth-quarter rally, the UMass women's basketball team fell just short 55-52 at VCU on Saturday afternoon at the Siegel Center. After the Rams led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, the Minutewomen were able to stage a comeback attempt to pull within a point in the fourth but were unable to pull ahead.

RECORDS:
The loss drops UMass to 9-14 overall and 3-7 in Atlantic 10 play, while VCU improves to 12-10 overall and 5-4 in league play.

UMASS LEADERS:
Hailey Leidel led UMass with 18 points and 10 rebounds – her third straight double-double. Ryan Holder added 12 points and six rebounds, followed by Maggie Mulligan's 11 points and nine rebounds to round out the Minutewomen's leaders.

VCU LEADERS:
VCU was led by 15 points from Jaily Maddox and 10 points from Isis Thorpe.

KEY PLAYS:
• The first quarter saw UMass close the stanza on an 11-to-2 run giving the Minutewomen a 17-6 lead. Leidel notched five points and Alyx Stiff hit back-to-back triples in the six minute stretch.
• The momentum swung in favor of the Rams to start the second quarter, however, as VCU scored 12 straight to briefly take an 18-17 lead. Stiff broke up the run with a lay-up and then Leidel hit her second three-pointer of the day putting UMass back up 22-20 with 2:01 remaining. VCU's Bria Gibson converted a three-point play with 26 seconds to go putting the Rams up 23-22 at halftime.
• In the third quarter, both teams traded baskets to start the frame, but VCU used a 10-to-0 run in the latter half to build out a 43-32 lead with 1:09 to go. Defensively, the Rams were able to hold the Minuteowmen 0-for-6 from the floor during that stretch. Leah McDerment broke up the run with a half-court, buzzer-beater to cut VCU's lead to 43-35 heading into the fourth.
• The Minutewomen mounted a rally in the fourth to make the deficit three points after a seven-point run cut VCU's lead to 48-45 with 3:05 remaining. With four seconds to go, UMass made it a one-point game, 53-52, on a Leidel three-pointer. After VCU's Thorpe hit a pair of free throws, the Minutewomen had one more shot. The in-bounds pass was deflected out of bounds next to the UMass bench with 0.1 seconds on the clock. The Minutewomen were able to get the ball into Leidel, but her contested three-point attempt did not get off in time.

NUMBERS GAME:
For the game, UMass hit 37.5 percent of its field goals including a 7-of-11 effort from beyond the three-point arc. The Minutewomen were only able to get to the free throw line four times though. VCU was able to force UMass into 22 turnovers and coverted those into 24 points.

FACT OF THE NIGHT:
With her 15 point performance today, Leidel moved into second at UMass in freshman scoring with 383 points on the season – just 11 shy of breaking Bria Stallworth's freshman scoring record set last season.

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. Tickets for home games can be purchased by calling 866-UMASS-TIX, logging on to www.UMassAthletics.com, and by visiting the Mullins Center Box Office.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Team Stats

Hailey Leidel

Ryan Holder

Maggie Mulligan

Alyx Stiff

Players Mentioned

Ryan Holder

Hailey Leidel

Leah McDerment

Maggie Mulligan

Bria Stallworth

Alyx Stiff

Players Mentioned

Ryan Holder

Hailey Leidel

Leah McDerment

Maggie Mulligan

Bria Stallworth

Alyx Stiff

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics