Women’s Hoops Hosts Senior Day and Alumnae Day Saturday Against Rhode Island

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes
Game 29	Massachusetts (13-15 overall, 5-10 Atlantic 10) vs. Rhode Island (3-25 overall, 1-14 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time	Saturday, Feb. 24 \| Noon
Location	Mullins Center; Amherst, Mass.
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 44-35. Last meeting: Massachusetts 61, Rhode Island 59; Jan. 28, 2018
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Rhode Island (available shortly)
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

The Opening Tip
University of Massachusetts women's basketball caps the regular season on Sat., Feb. 24 with a noon tilt against Rhode Island from the Mullins Center. Prior to the game, the Minutewomen will celebrate the senior duo of Leah McDerment and Maggie Mulligan. Additionally, UMass is welcoming back all women's basketball alumnae and will recognize former players in attendance at Saturday's game.

Mike Knittle and Alex Levitt will provide live coverage of the contest on the Atlantic 10 Digital Network as well as on 91.1 FM WMUA, the flagship radio home of UMass women's basketball.

Set Your Alarms and Tune Your Radio
Every Friday at 11 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, Alex Levitt 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.

Recap In A Minute
Hailey Leidel made her 78th and 79th three-point field goals, setting a single season UMass record, as the Minutewomen defeated Richmond, 58-49, on Wednesday night in Atlantic 10 action at the Robins Center. The victory snapped a 14-game losing streak against the Spiders as UMass had last knocked off Richmond on Jan. 19, 2006–over a year before the first iteration of the Apple iPhone was released.

Leah McDerment led Massachusetts with 13 points on 5-of-10 from the floor while Leidel finished the night with 12 points. Maggie Mulligan finished just short of her third straight double-double, turning in nine points and 14 rebounds. George handed out three assists and Bre Hampton-Bey came up with four steals.

Triple Threat
Hailey Leidel's 79 three-point baskets thus far in 2017-18 lead the Atlantic 10 and surpassed the previous single season UMass record of 78 triples. As a freshman in 2016-17, Leidel matched that mark which was first set in 2010-11 by Cerie Mosgrove.

The Brownstown, Michigan product continues to pace the Minutewomen offensively with a team-high 15.5 points per game which is 10th in the A-10. In addition, she is on pace to surpass Katie Nelson (2001-06) for the highest number of made 3-pointers in a career at UMass. Leidel has drained 157 baskets from downtown in less than two seasons, while Nelson put down 191 while in Amherst.

Verdi Approaching 100 Career Wins
Massachusetts head coach Tory Verdi logged his 97th career victory at the collegiate level in the win at Richmond on Feb. 21. 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).

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 118 games during her career, just one short of tying former Minutewoman Kim Benton (1996-2000) for the all-time program record.

One of the most versatile to don the Maroon and White in recent memory, McDerment has made 99 starts in her career, including 18 this season. She cracked the starting five in all 30 games during her junior campaign in 2016-17.

Take It Away!
Massachusetts now has logged 227 steals on the season, averaging 8.1 per game, both of which sit third in the Atlantic 10. Individually, freshman Bre Hampton-Bey boasts 2.3 takeaways per game which is second in the conference and seventh nationally among rookies.

Nah, Nah, Nah...Not In My House
With two blocks against Davidson on Sat., Feb. 17, Maggie Mulligan has now registered a total of 62 on the season, a career-high that also ranks third all-time at Massachusetts for one campaign. Former Minutewoman Kate Mills holds both the top (68, 2007-08) and second (64, 2006-07) positions in the UMass record book.

Hampton-Bey Collects A-10 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 at Duquesne were the most ever recorded by any Dukes 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.

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 2017 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
Following Saturday's regular season finale the Minutewomen will gear up for the First Round of the Atlantic 10 Championship, contested on Tues., Feb. 27 at campus sites.

The Atlantic 10 Conference will announce the tournament bracket following Saturday's games. The top two seeds will receive automatic byes to the Quarterfinal round on Fri., March 2. The First Round on Feb. 27 will pit the No. 3 through No. 8 seeds versus the No. 9 through No. 14 seeds.

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 Hoops Hosts Senior Day and Alumnae Day Saturday Against 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