Women’s Basketball Meets St. Bonaventure Saturday on CBS Sports Network

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes
Game 16	Massachusetts (8-7 overall, 0-2 Atlantic 10) at St. Bonaventure (5-10 overall, 0-2 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time	Saturday, Jan. 6 \| 11 a.m.
Location	Reilly Center; Olean, N.Y.
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 32-27. Last Meeting: St. Bonaventure 55, Massachusetts 39; Jan. 19, 2017
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| St. Bonaventure
Live Statistics	Presto Stats
Listen	91.1 FM WMUA \| WMUA Online
Tickets	(716) 375-2500 \| St. Bonaventure Athletics Ticket Office
Watch	CBS Sports Network \| Channel Finder
Twitter	@UMassWBB \| @UMassAthletics \| @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball \| UMass Athletics

Setting The Scene
An early wakeup call awaits University of Massachusetts women's basketball on Sat., Jan. 6 as the Minutewomen square off with St. Bonaventure in an early 11 a.m. rendezvous from the Reilly Center. The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network with Will Flemming (PxP) and Swin Cash (analyst) on the microphone. In addition, 91.1 FM WMUA, the flagship radio home of UMass women's basketball, will carry Saturday's game with Mike Knittle and Mitch Breslau on the call.

Recap In A Minute
Most recently the Minutewomen were dealt a 62-51 defeat by Fordham on Wed., Jan. 3. Maggie Mulligan put down a team-best and season-high 21 points but UMass struggled on the glass and went to the free throw line just twice in the loss. Fordham also shot 55 percent (11-of-20) in the third quarter as the tables began to turn in favor of the visitors.

I Palumbo, You Palumbo, He She Me...Palumbo
Maggie Mulligan's 22 boards 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.

Verdi Approaching 100 Career Wins
Massachusetts head coach Tory Verdi logged his 92nd career victory as a head coach in the win over UMass Lowell on Dec. 13. 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).

Nine Would Be Fine
A victory on Saturday would put the Minutewomen at 9-7 on the season and match the squad's win total from 2016-17 before even hitting the heart of the Atlantic 10 schedule.

All Truth, No Lies
After tying the UMass single-season record in 2016-17 with 78 made three-point baskets, sophomore Hailey Leidel continues to leave a mark from downtown having drained 42 triples to date in her second campaign in Amherst. Leidel leads the Atlantic 10 this year in that category, is ninth among Division I sophomores and 29th nationally among all players.

Take It Away!
Massachusetts now has logged 134 steals on the season, averaging 8.9 per game, ranking second and first, respectively, in the Atlantic 10 while the season total sits 72nd in the country. Individually, freshman Bre Hampton-Bey boasts 2.36 takeaways per game which is second in the conference and seventh nationally among rookies.

Hi, How May We Assist You?
UMass has dished out a total of 227 assists this season, the third-best figure in the A-10 and No. 54 among the Division I ranks. Breaking that down to a game-by-game figure, the Minutewomen are averaging 15.1 dimes, a clip that sits third in the conference. Saint Louis leads the conference in both the total (246) and per game (16.4) areas.

Nah, Nah, Nah...Not In My House
After posting two blocks against Fordham (Jan. 3), Maggie Mulligan has now registered a total of 31 on the season, averaging 2.07 swats per game. Both figures rank second in the Atlantic 10 behind Duquesne's Kadri-Ann Lass and are among the top 50 across Division I. Dating back to last season, the senior and Boston native has rejected at least one shot in 16 of her last 18 games.

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, 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
UMass will have exactly one week to prepare for its next duel, a Sat., Jan. 13 matchup with Saint Joseph's at 2 p.m. from the Mullins Center in Amherst, Massachusetts.

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

Women’s Basketball Meets St. Bonaventure Saturday on CBS Sports Network

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