Trip To North Dakota On Tap For Minutewomen

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes
Game 3	Massachusetts (2-0 overall) at North Dakota State (2-0 overall)
Date \| Time	Friday, Nov. 17 \| 8 p.m. (ET)
Location	Scheels Center; Fargo, N.D.
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 1-0. Last meeting: Massachusetts 70, NDSU 58; Nov. 14, 2016
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| North Dakota State
Live Statistics	Stat Broadcast
Listen	91.1 FM WMUA \| WMUA Online
Tickets	(701) 231-6378 \| NDSU Ticket Office
Watch	ESPN3 \| WatchESPN app
Twitter	@UMassWBB \| @UMassAthletics \| @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball \| UMass Athletics

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes
Game 4	Massachusetts at North Dakota
Date \| Time	Sunday, Nov. 19 \| 3 p.m. (ET)
Location	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center; Grand Forks, N.D.
Series History	First Meeting
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| North Dakota
Live Statistics	NeuLion
Listen	91.1 FM WMUA \| WMUA Online
Tickets	(701) 777-4689 \| UND Ticket Office
Watch	Watch Big Sky
Twitter	@UMassWBB \| @UMassAthletics \| @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball \| UMass Athletics

Setting The Scene
University of Massachusetts women's basketball embarks on its first road trip of the 2017-18 season, visiting North Dakota State on Fri., Nov. 17 in a game that will tip off at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The Minutewomen will then trek up Interstate 29 for a Sun., Nov. 19 contest at the University of North Dakota. That game is slated for a 3 p.m. Eastern Time start.

Recap In A Minute
Massachusetts finds itself 2-0 on the young season after knocking off Maine-Fort Kent (Nov. 10) and Towson (Nov. 12) to begin the year. The Minutewomen had at least four double-figure scorers in each of the two matchups, complementing that effort in the Towson game with 27 forced turnovers and as many points coming off takeaways. Both Maggie Mulligan (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Genesis Rivera (12 points, 10 rebounds) posted double-doubles against UMFK and Rivera followed up that performance with a game-high 21 points against Towson.

Over The Century Mark
In recording a 111-45 triumph over Maine-Fort Kent on Nov. 10, UMass surpassed the 100-point mark for the first time since Dec. 13, 1980 when the squad defeated Vermont, 105-74. Additionally, the UMFK result reset the program record for largest margin of victory (65), which previously stood at 51.

Trip To The 701
This road swing for the Minutewomen marks the team's first playing on North Dakota soil and just the second time facing an opponent from the Peace Garden State. UMass opened its 2016-17 home schedule with a 70-58 win over North Dakota State, in part a result of hot shooting and effective transition play. That contest stands as the program's only game against a Summit League squad.

Massachusetts is 1-0 against current members of the Big Sky, taking down Montana by a 59-58 score on Nov. 20, 2016. On that day, UMass found itself down two with 10 seconds to go before Hailey Leidel drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the top of the key to wrap up the Hawkeye Challenge at Iowa.

UMass Adds Five During Early Signing Period
University of Massachusetts women's basketball and head coach Tory Verdi welcomed five new members to the program on Mon., Nov. 13, as Alexa Kellner (Stamford, Connecticut), Madison Lowery (Virginia Beach, Virginia), Asia McCoy (Lawrenceville, Georgia), Jessica Nelson (Buford, Georgia) and Destiny Philoxy (Queens, New York) signed their respective National Letters of Intent. Regarded as one of the highest-caliber classes in program history, the group was ranked No. 57 nationally by Blue Star Basketball as well as No. 62 in the country by PASS. Click here for more information on the group of five.

Mullins Center Hosts UMass Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 24-25
Massachusetts women's basketball will host the UMass Thanksgiving Classic from Nov. 24-25 at the Mullins Center. Three teams spanning three different conferences will join the Minutewomen in Northeastern (CAA), Houston (American) and Liberty (Big South). UMass will duel with in-state foe Northeastern at 1 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 24 and wrap up the weekend at 1 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 25 against Liberty.

For ticket information, click here or contact the UMass Athletics Ticket Office at (866) UMASS-TIX.

Leidel, Mulligan Collect A-10 Preseason Recognition
Hailey Leidel and Maggie Mulligan received Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Team as announced by the league office on Oct. 23. Leidel was placed on the All-Conference Second Team, while Mulligan earned herself a spot on the All-Conference Third Team.

Welcome To The Show!
UMass welcomes seven newcomers in 2017-18 in Alexia Allesch (Basking Ridge, New Jersey), Autumn Giles (Fort Myers, Florida), Bre Hampton-Bey (Toledo, Ohio), Paige McCormick (Ogdensburg, New York), Vashnie Perry (Nashville, Tennessee), Genesis Rivera (Caracas, Venezuela) and Anil Soysal (Istanbul, Turkey).

We're Telling The Truth, No Lying Here
Now-sophomore Hailey Leidel took home Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors in 2016-17 after averaging 15.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, ranking fourth in scoring among all NCAA rookies. She tied a UMass program record with 78 made 3-pointers and set program-bests among freshmen in in scoring (465), three-point field goals made, and free throws made (111).

Candice Finley Joins UMass As Assistant Coach
University of Massachusetts women's basketball head coach Tory Verdi announced in May the addition of Candice Finley as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. The addition of Finley reunited the duo after they worked together for four years at Eastern Michigan. The native of Detroit earned a bachelor's degree from Eastern Kentucky in 2002, then played professionally in Luxembourg for a season.

Next Up
UMass will fly back to New England following Sunday's game at UND and return to the Mullins Center hardwood on Fri., Nov. 24 with a 1 p.m. matchup against Northeastern in the UMass Thanksgiving Classic.

UMass Women's Basketball On Social Media
Follow UMass women's basketball on Twitter (@UMassWBB), Instagram (UMassWBB) and Facebook (UMass Women's Basketball) for the latest news and updates around the team.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexia Allesch

Autumn Giles

Bre Hampton-Bey

Hailey Leidel

Paige McCormick

Maggie Mulligan

Vashnie Perry

Genesis Rivera

Anil Soysal

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics