Atlantic 10 Action Continues for Women's Hoops Sunday at Rhode Island

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes
Game 21	Massachusetts (9-11 overall, 1-6 Atlantic 10) at Rhode Island (3-18 overall, 1-7 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time	Sunday, Jan. 28 \| 2 p.m.
Location	Ryan Center; Kingston, R.I.
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 43-35. Last meeting: Rhode Island 53, Massachusetts 50; Feb. 22, 2017
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Rhode Island (available shortly)
Live Statistics	Presto Sports
Listen	91.1 FM WMUA \| WMUA Online
Tickets	(855) 387-4849 \| Rhode Island Athletics Ticket Office
Watch	Atlantic 10 Digital Network
Twitter	@UMassWBB \| @UMassAthletics \| @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball \| UMass Athletics

The Opening Tip
University of Massachusetts women's basketball travels to the Ocean State this weekend for a Sun., Jan. 28 rendezvous with the University of Rhode Island. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Ryan Center in Kingston, Rhode Island.

Alex Levitt and Joey Ice will call the game courtside on 91.1 FM WMUA, the flagship radio home of UMass women's basketball. Fans can also stream the game online in high definition via the Atlantic 10 Digital Network.

Recap In A Minute
UMass is looking to bounce back after a tough 87-81 double-overtime loss at Davidson on Wed., Jan. 24. The Minutewomen built a lead of as much as 16 points in the second quarter, but a second half rally brought Davidson even with UMass to force the extra periods. Massachusetts had three double-figure scorers in the setback, led by 25 points from Hailey Leidel on 8-of-13 shooting and complemented by Bre Hampton-Bey (13) and Maggie Mulligan (10). Unfortunately for the Minutewomen, the squad faced foul trouble in the fourth quarter and into overtime and ultimately were without the services of Hampton-Bey, Leidel, Paige McCormick and Mulligan by game's end.

Climbing The Record Book
Senior Leah McDerment is leaving a mark in the UMass record book as her time with the Maroon and White winds down. The native of Stockport, England has earned time in 110 games during her career, just nine short of tying former Minutewoman Kim Benton (1996-2000) for the all-time program record. McDerment can match that figure if she appears in each remaining regular season contest.

In addition, sophomore Hailey Leidel is on pace to surpass Katie Nelson (2001-06) for the highest number of made 3-pointers at UMass. Leidel has drained 138 baskets from downtown in less than two seasons, while Nelson put down 191 in her career.

All Truth, No Lies
After tying the UMass single-season record in 2016-17 with 78 made three-point baskets, Hailey Leidel continues to leave a mark from downtown having drained 60 triples to date in her second campaign in Amherst. Leidel leads Atlantic 10 this year in that category, is eighth among Division I sophomores and 27th nationally among all players.

Leidel continues to pace the Minutewomen offensively with a team-high 15.8 points per game which is eighth in the A-10.

Hampton-Bey Collects A-10 Weekly Recognition
After averaging 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists at Saint Louis (Jan. 18) and against VCU (Jan. 21), Bre Hampton-Bey was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week on Mon., Jan. 22. The Toledo, Ohio native was clutch for UMass down the stretch as the Minutewomen entered the bonus with over six minutes left. In the stretch that followed, Hampton-Bey seven of nine free throws. Her 31 points against VCU were the most by a UMass rookie since Melissa Gurile drained 34 at Northeastern on Dec. 1, 1992. Earlier in the week at Saint Louis (Jan. 18), she dropped seven points and grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds.

I Palumbo, You Palumbo, He She Me...Palumbo
Maggie Mulligan's 22 rebounds on Sun., Dec. 31 were the most ever recorded by any Duquesne opponent in a single game as well as the top figure in a contest played at the Palumbo Center, which opened in 1988. Both previous marks (21) were held by former Minutewoman Jennifer Butler and recorded in a game played on Jan. 17, 2002. Mulligan additionally turned in 14 points in the Duquesne game to secure her 26th career double-double.

The Boston native is barely short of averaging a double-double, turning in marks of 10.7 points and 9.5 rebounds each night.

Take It Away!
Massachusetts now has logged 173 steals on the season, averaging 8.7 per game, good for third in the Atlantic 10 in both categories. Individually, freshman Bre Hampton-Bey boasts 2.47 takeaways per game which is second in the conference and fourth nationally among rookies.

Hi, How May We Assist You?
UMass has dished out a total of 304 assists this season, the fourth-best figure in the A-10 and No. 75 among the Division I ranks. Breaking that down to a game-by-game figure, the Minutewomen are averaging 15.2 dimes. Saint Louis leads the conference in both the total (339) and per game (17) areas.

Nah, Nah, Nah...Not In My House
After recording four blocks at Davidson (Jan. 26), Maggie Mulligan has now registered a total of 47 on the season, averaging 2.35 per game. Both figures rank second in the Atlantic 10 behind Duquesne's Kadri-Ann Lass and are among the top 28 across all of Division I. The senior and Boston native has rejected at least one shot in each of her last eight games in addition to 11 of her last 12.

Verdi Approaching 100 Career Wins
Massachusetts head coach Tory Verdi logged his 93rd career victory as a head coach in the win over VCU on Jan. 21. Prior to arriving at Massachusetts ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, Verdi earned 72 triumphs at the helm of Eastern Michigan (2012-16) and three as interim head coach at Columbia (2004-05).

Pair of Incoming Freshmen Tabbed McDonald's All-American Nominees
Incoming UMass freshmen Alexa Kellner and Destiny Philoxy were named McDonald's All-American Game nominees on Wed., Jan. 10. Although Kellner and Philoxy did not make the final rosters for the March 28 contest, the showcase is widely regarded as one of the best in the United States, nominating the nation's top high school players.

Both Kellner and Philoxy submitted National Letters of Intent in November 2017 as early signees and will officially join UMass beginning in 2018-19.

Money! ¡Dinero!
Genesis Rivera went a perfect 6-of-6 from downtown in the first quarter on Sat., Dec. 2 against Mississippi Valley State, a feat not previously accomplished at UMass. 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.

Record-Breaking Effort
A number of single-game UMass records were broken on Thurs., Dec. 7 against Fisher College, notably Hailey Leidel's 10-of-10 performance from three-point land, surpassing the previous top figure of seven triples made. That clip also tied the NCAA Division I single-game record for consecutive makes from beyond the arc.

In addition, the Minutewomen set new team highs in three-pointers made (17), points in a quarter (39, 1st), points in a half (70, 1st), total points (121), assists (34), and largest margin of victory (83).

Over The Century Mark
UMass has surpassed 100-points twice this season, eclipsing that figure against Maine-Fort Kent on Nov. 10 (111-45) and Fisher on Dec. 7 (121-38). In recording that triumph over UMFK, the Minutewomen crossed the century mark for the first time since Dec. 13, 1980 when the squad defeated Vermont, 105-74.

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.

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).

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 returns to the Mullins Center for a special 11:30 a.m. Field Trip Day matchup against Richmond on Wed., Jan. 31.

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

Atlantic 10 Action Continues for Women's Hoops Sunday at Rhode Island

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexia Allesch

Autumn Giles

Bre Hampton-Bey

Hailey Leidel

Paige McCormick

Leah McDerment

Maggie Mulligan

Vashnie Perry

Genesis Rivera

Anil Soysal

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics