Minutewomen Open Texas Trip With 64-45 Victory Over Incarnate Word

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Massachusetts	17	15	19	13	64
UIW	5	12	7	21	45

Massachusetts

UIW

SAN ANTONIO – Hailey Leidel had a game-high 22 points and five steals as University of Massachusetts women's basketball defeated Incarnate Word, 64-45, on Wednesday night at the McDermott Center.

UMass improves to 4-3 with the victory, while the Cardinals drop to 1-6 on the season. The Minutewomen posted the outcome in part as a result of a 45.3 percent (24-of-53) shooting effort while also holding UIW to 27.9 percent (17-of-61) from the field.

Joining Leidel in double-figure scoring for Massachusetts were Maggie Mulligan (13) and Bre Hampton-Bey (13). Leah McDerment dished out four assists and Mulligan recorded four blocks for the second consecutive game.

Four of UMass' six three-pointers on the night came by way of Leidel, while Paige McCormick buried a pair to help the Minutewomen to a 42.9 percent mark (6-of-14) from three-point land for the evening.

UMass never trailed in the game and maintained the upper hand from the 4:33 mark of the first quarter through the balance of the contest. In that first quarter Leidel was on fire from downtown, draining nine of her 11 points from beyond the arc, hitting a pair of triples from the left wing and adding her final bucket from the right corner at the 1:06 mark. Over the final minutes of the quarter and extending into the second stanza, the Minutewomen pressured at both ends and subsequently constructed a 19-2 run.

That stretch was witness to a period of more than four minutes in the second quarter in which UIW went without a field goal. UMass dominated the paint by a 12-2 margin and would stretch its lead to as much as 17 before heading into halftime with a 32-17 advantage.

Coming out of the break, the Maroon and White once again used a large run to put the game away. Over the final 7:04 of the third quarter, UMass put together a 14-2 sequence that swelled its advantage to a game-high 27 points heading into the final period of regulation.

Gabbi Bowie turned in a team-high 17 points for UIW in the loss. UMass did run into some difficulty taking care of the basketball, particularly in the fourth quarter, but in spite of committing 22 turnovers on the night the Minutewomen converted UIW's 24 turnovers into 23 points.

The Maroon and White now turn their attention to the two-game UTRGV Battle on the Border. UMass opens the event on Fri., Dec. 1 against host UTRGV at 8 p.m. Eastern Time from Edinburg, Texas.

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Scoreboard