Regular Season Begins Tuesday vs. Sacred Heart

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 1	Sacred Heart (0-0) at Massachusetts (0-0)
Date // Time	Tuesday, Nov. 6 // 4:30 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. // Mullins Center
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Stats
Game Notes	Massachusetts // Sacred Heart // Atlantic 10 // Northeast Conference
Television	ELEVEN SPORTS (channel finder) NESNplus (channel finder)
Stream	ESPN+ (Subscription)
Twitter	@UMassAthletics // @UMassWBB // @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball
Facebook	UMass Women's Basketball
Tickets	UMass Athletics Ticket Central

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Follow UMass women's basketball on Twitter (@UMassWBB), Instagram (UMassWBB) and Facebook (UMass Women's Basketball) for the latest news and updates around the program. In addition, fans can follow head coach Tory Verdi on Twitter @CoachVerdiUMass.

The Opening Tip
Entering head coach Tory Verdi's third year at the helm of the program, UMass has welcomed in five freshmen to the program and is positioned to continue its ascent up the Atlantic 10. The Minutewomen wrapped up the 2017-18 campaign with a 14-16 overall record and 6-10 in the Atlantic 10, both the most wins since 2006-07. Seeded 10th in the A-10 Tournament, the squad fell just short of Saint Louis in the First Round, but saw growth in 17 statistical areas over the course of the year.

UMass was projected to finish ninth in this year's Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll.

Leidel Earns Preseason All-Conference Honors
One of the top three-point shooters in UMass history, junior Hailey Leidel was named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Second Team on Oct. 23. The native of Brownstown, Michigan was atop the Minutewomen in scoring in 2017-18, continuing to lead an on-court resurgence within the program. She started all but one of 30 games, averaging 15.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest.

Just 60 games into her career, Leidel has amassed 930 points and is on the verge of becoming the 20th member of the program's 1,000-point club. As a sophomore in 2017-18 she buried 83 three-point field goals, setting a UMass record and surpassing the previous mark of 78 first set by Cerie Mosgrove in 2010-11.

Verdi Approaching 100 Career Wins
Massachusetts head coach Tory Verdi logged his 98th career victory at the collegiate level in the 2017-18 regular season finale against Rhode Island (Feb. 24). Prior to arriving in the Pioneer Valley 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).

Introducing...the Fantastic Five
The Minutewomen have welcomed five freshmen to Amherst in 2018-19, with the group collectively regarded by multiple outside groups as one of the top incoming classes in UMass history. Alexa Kellner (Stamford, Conn.), Madison Lowery (Virginia Beach, Va.), Asia McCoy (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Jessica Nelson (Buford, Ga.) and Destiney Philoxy (Queens, N.Y.) compose the class, which was ranked No. 57 nationally by Blue Star Basketball and No. 62 in the country by PASS.

Let's Get to the Point
Bre Hampton-Bey is expected to continue her role as a catalyst for the Minutewomen in 2018-19. The sophomore point guard had a freshman season to remember last year, starting all but three games and setting the UMass freshman record for steals (64) while putting down 11.2 points per night. She capped her first season in Amherst earning a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.

Arguably Hampton-Bey's breakout game to date came on Jan. 21, 2018 in a 79-75 win over VCU. On that day, the Toledo, Ohio native had 31 points and nine assists, the former marking the most points in a game by a UMass freshman since Melissa Gurile drained 34 at Northeastern on Dec. 1, 1992.

Aye Aye, Captain
Senior Jessica George and junior Hailey Leidel will guide the Minutewomen this season as captains.

Mike Leflar Named UMass Assistant Coach
Head coach Tory Verdi announced on May 30 that Mike Leflar has joined the program in an assistant coach capacity. No stranger to the Commonwealth, Leflar made the trek to Western Massachusetts following three seasons at Northeastern University in Boston.

In his final year with the Huskies, NU won 16 games including a program-record 11 victories in the CAA, capping the season with a trip to the WBI Tournament. That marked the program's first postseason appearance since 1999.

Next Up
UMass next turns its attention to a Sun., Nov. 11 game at Towson, which is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jessica George

Bre Hampton-Bey

Hailey Leidel

Madison Lowery

Asia McCoy

Jessica Nelson

Destiney Philoxy

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics