Atlantic 10 First Round Takes Minutewomen to Saint Louis Tuesday

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes
Atlantic 10 First Round • Championship Central • Printable Bracket
Game 30	No. 10 Massachusetts (14-15 overall) at No. 7 Saint Louis (15-14 overall)
Date \| Time	Tuesday, Feb. 27 \| 8 p.m. Eastern Time
Location	Chaifetz Arena; St. Louis, Mo.
Series History	Saint Louis leads, 11-3. Last meeting: Saint Louis 64, Massachusetts 63; Jan. 18, 2018
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Saint Louis \| Atlantic 10
Live Statistics	Stat Broadcast
Listen	91.1 FM WMUA \| WMUA Online
Tickets	(314) 977-4SLU \| SLU Athletics Ticket Office
Watch	Atlantic 10 Digital Network
Twitter	@UMassWBB \| @UMassAthletics \| @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball \| UMass Athletics
Season Statistics	Massachusetts \| Saint Louis

The Opening Tip
Seeded 10th in the 2018 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship, Massachusetts will face seventh-seeded Saint Louis in the First Round of the tournament on Tues., Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. SLU will host the contest at Chaifetz Arena.

Coverage of the game will be available on the Atlantic 10 Digital Network as well as on 91.1 FM WMUA, the flagship radio home of UMass women's basketball. Mike Knittle and Joey Ice will call the action courtside.

What's At Stake
The winner of Tuesday's game will advance to the Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals and meet No. 2 Duquesne from the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. That game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Fri., March 2.

Massachusetts in the Atlantic 10 Championship
UMass is looking to advance past the A-10 First Round for the first time since 2016 when the Minutewomen knocked off La Salle to open the tournament, before falling to Fordham in overtime in the Second Round.

The No. 10 seed for the Minutewomen in the bracket is the highest attained by the team since 2010, when UMass was slotted ninth.

The All-Time Series Between Massachusetts and Saint Louis
Historically SLU has had UMass' number, leading the all-time series by an 11-3 margin. That includes a 91-51 Billikens victory last season in the Atlantic 10 First Round, the only other time the sides have met in the A-10 Championship. A UMass triumph on Tuesday would be the team's first over the Bills since Jan. 19, 2011 and first on the road since Jan. 13, 2010.

Earlier this season on Jan. 18, the Minutewomen nearly pulled out the victory at Chaifetz Arena but ultimately fell in a 64-63 heartbreaker. With the score tied at 63-apiece, UMass had possession in the final 30 seconds and was unable to convert on its final possession of regulation. On the ensuing trip up the floor for SLU, Kerri McMahan was fouled and banked the second free throw to steal the win.

Recap In A Minute
UMass has come out on top in three consecutive contests, most recently posting an 87-50 result against Rhode Island on Sat., Feb. 24 at the Mullins Center. A balanced scoring effort was key for the Minutewomen as four different players reached double figures. Maggie Mulligan (16 points, 11 rebounds) turned in her third double-double in the last four games and also had three assists and three blocks.

Hailey Leidel led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-18 from the floor, while Mulligan (16), Paige McCormick (16) and Bre Hampton-Bey (14) also contributed double-figure efforts. Hampton-Bey dished out a team-high six assists. Jessica George came off the bench to contribute eight points plus three steals for the Minutewomen.

There's An App For That
In just UMass' second season under the guidance of head coach Tory Verdi, the Minutewomen have won 14 games–more than any campaign after 2006-07. That year, when the Maroon and White brought home 17 victories, the Apple iPhone had yet to be publicly released.

Triple Threat
Hailey Leidel's 83 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 15.9 points per game which is ninth in the A-10. In addition, she is on track to surpass Katie Nelson (2001-06) for the highest number of made 3-pointers in a career at UMass. Leidel has drained 161 baskets from downtown in less than two seasons, while Nelson put down 191 while in Amherst.

Double Trouble
Maggie Mulligan (10.9 ppg, 10 rpg) enters the Atlantic 10 Championship as one of just four players in the A-10 averaging a double-double. That group also includes George Mason's Natalie Butler (18.7 ppg, 16.3 rpg), G'Mrice Davis of Fordham (16.9 ppg, 13.6 rpg) and Dayton's Javonna Layfield (12 ppg, 13 rpg).

The Boston native has registered double-figure points and rebounds in 32 games in her career including 12 in 2017-18. Since 1999, when double-doubles became a computerized statistic at UMass, only Jennifer Butler (1999-2003) has posted more (47).

Verdi Approaching 100 Career Wins
Massachusetts head coach Tory Verdi logged his 98th career victory at the collegiate level in the win over Rhode Island on 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).

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 119 games during her career, 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 100 starts in her career, including 19 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 237 steals on the season, averaging 8.2 per game, both of which sit second in the Atlantic 10. Individually, freshman Bre Hampton-Bey boasts 2.25 takeaways per game which is third in the conference and seventh nationally among rookies.

Nah, Nah, Nah...Not In My House
With three blocks against Rhode Island on Sat., Feb. 24, Maggie Mulligan has now registered a total of 65 on the season, a career-high that also ranks second all-time at Massachusetts for one campaign. Former Minutewoman Kate Mills holds the top (68, 2007-08) position 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.

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. Outside of the WMUA listening area, the show can be heard free of charge online at WMUA.org.

Fans should note that the show will not air on Fri., March 2, but will return on Fri., March 9.

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 First Round Takes Minutewomen to Saint Louis Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Jessica George

Bre Hampton-Bey

Hailey Leidel

Paige McCormick

Leah McDerment

Maggie Mulligan

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics