Women’s Basketball Hosts Fisher Thursday Night

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes
Game 10	Massachusetts (5-4 overall) vs. Fisher (5-5 overall)
Date \| Time	Thursday, Dec. 7 \| 7 p.m.
Location	Mullins Center; Amherst, Mass.
Series History	First meeting
Game Notes	Massachusetts
Live Statistics	Sidearm Stats
Listen	91.1 FM WMUA \| WMUA Online
Tickets	866-UMASS-TIX \| UMass Athletics Ticket Office
Watch	Atlantic 10 Digital Network
Twitter	@UMassWBB \| @UMassAthletics \| @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball \| UMass Athletics

Setting The Scene
University of Massachusetts women's basketball returns to the Mullins Center on Thurs., Dec. 7 against Fisher College to begin the home stretch of the non-conference schedule. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the first-ever meeting of the sides.

Recap In A Minute
Massachusetts returns to New England and the Bay State on the heels of an 85-46 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Sat. Dec. 2. That game closed the two-day UT Rio Grande Valley Battle on the Border, during which the Minutewomen were dealt a tough setback by host UTRGV before responding with the win over MVSU. Both Maggie Mulligan and Genesis Rivera were named to the Battle on the Border All-Tournament Team as a result of their performances.

The Saturday victory also ended a busy Texas trip for UMass, which played three games in four days. Prior to the Battle on the Border, the Maroon and White opened their time in the Lone Star State with a Nov. 29 win in San Antonio at Incarnate Word, taking down the Cardinals by a 64-45 margin.

Set Your Alarms and Tune Your Radio
Every Friday at 11:30 a.m., fans can tune to 91.1 FM WMUA and hear about the week that was for the Minutewomen on the UMass Women's Basketball Show. Head coach Tory Verdi along with selected guests will visit with Mike Knittle, Josh McCawley and other hosts to discuss the latest happenings around the team and look ahead to upcoming matchups.

Fans outside of the WMUA listening area can listen to the show free of charge online at WMUA.org.

Money! ¡Dinero!
Genesis Rivera had a career day from downtown on Sat., Dec. 2 in the win over Mississippi Valley State, putting down seven three-pointers to tie the Massachusetts single-game record. Five other Minutewomen have logged seven three-pointers made in a game, most recently in the 2015-16 season.

Not to be overlooked is that Rivera went a perfect 6-of-6 in the first quarter against MVSU, setting a program record for threes drained in a single 10-minute stanza. Of all players across the Atlantic 10, none prior to Rivera have hit six in a single quarter this season. The previous top conference mark in 2017-18 was held by La Salle's Amy Griffin, who went 5-of-5 in the third period against Lafayette on Fri., Nov. 10.

Can We "Borrow" That Please?
Helped by 28 takeaways during the first two games of the Texas trip, Massachusetts now has logged 90 steals on the season, averaging an even 10 per game. Both figures stand atop the Atlantic 10, while the season total sits 26th in the country.

Individually, Bre Hampton-Bey boasts a conference-best 24 steals, amounting to three per game.

Free? Thank You Kindly
UMass ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in free throw percentage (75.7 percent), a clip in part composed by two perfect nights at the charity stripe. In the Minutewomen's season-opener on Nov. 10, UMass drained all 22 attempts from the line against Maine-Fort Kent, before turning in a perfect 14-of-14 effort against Northeastern on Nov. 24.

George Washington (77.9 percent) and Fordham (75.8 percent) sit ahead of the Maroon and White for the conference lead in the category. All three squads are among the top 32 across Division I.

Nah, Nah, Nah...Not In My House
After posting six blocks during last week's Texas swing, Maggie Mulligan has now registered a total of 22 on the season, averaging 2.44 swats per game. Both figures are tied for the lead in the Atlantic 10 and share the 15th and 29th positions, respectively, across the Division I ranks.

Feels Like The First Time
Observant fans will notice that the non-conference schedule for the Minutewomen features six opponents with which the Maroon and White have not previously crossed paths. That group includes Maine-Fort Kent (Nov. 10), Towson (Nov. 12), North Dakota (Nov. 19), Incarnate Word (Nov. 28), UT Rio Grande Valley (Dec. 1) and Fisher College (Dec. 7).

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 a program record for largest margin of victory (65), which previously stood at 51.

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.

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
Massachusetts hosts Saint Peter's of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on Sun., Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.

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.

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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