Minutewomen, Dayton Square Off Wednesday Night

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes
Game 24	Massachusetts (11-12 overall, 3-7 Atlantic 10) vs. Dayton (18-4 overall, 11-0 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time	Wednesday, Feb. 7 \| 7 p.m.
Location	Mullins Center; Amherst, Mass.
Series History	Dayton leads, 13-11. Last meeting: Dayton 77, Massachusetts 65; Dec. 31, 2016
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Dayton
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
Coming off of a Sun., Feb. 4 victory over La Salle, University of Massachusetts women's basketball concludes a three-game homestand on Wed., Feb. 7 when Dayton visits the Mullins Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Fans can listen to Alex Levitt and Colin Cronin as the duo call Wednesday's game live on the Atlantic 10 Digital Network. In addition, Joey Ice, Justin Maccagnan and Cassie Healy will have a live broadcast of the action 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
UMass came away with a 69-66 win over La Salle on Sun., Feb. 4, holding off a late push by the Explorers to secure the victory from the Mullins Center. Maggie Mulligan posted her second consecutive double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Hailey Leidel added a team-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting. As a team the Minutewomen committed just eight turnovers on the day.

Leidel was instrumental in a 17-2 run stretching over roughly seven minutes in the second stanza. Three-point shooting proved key during the stretch as the Minutewomen went 3-of-4 from downtown, capped with 5:16 on the clock when Leah McDerment set up Genesis Rivera in the right corner. That put Massachusetts ahead 29-26 and gave the squad a lead it would ultimately keep for the remainder of the day.

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 113 games during her career, just six 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.

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 68 triples to date in her second campaign in Amherst. Leidel leads Atlantic 10 this year in that category, is sixth among Division I sophomores and in a three-way tie for 28th nationally among all players.

Leidel continues to pace the Minutewomen offensively with a team-high 16.1 points per game which is ninth in the A-10. In addition, she is on pace to surpass Katie Nelson (2001-06) for the highest number of made 3-pointers at UMass. Leidel has drained 146 baskets from downtown in less than two seasons, while Nelson put down 191 in her career.

Take It Away!
Massachusetts now has logged 189 steals on the season, averaging 8.2 per game, both of which are good for fifth in the Atlantic 10. Individually, freshman Bre Hampton-Bey boasts 2.36 takeaways per game which is third in the conference and seventh nationally among rookies.

Hi, How May We Assist You Today?
UMass has dished out a total of 349 assists this season, the third-best figure in the A-10 and No. 76 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 (399) and per game (17.3) areas.

Nah, Nah, Nah...Not In My House
After recording one block against La Salle (Feb. 4), Maggie Mulligan has now registered a total of 50 on the season, averaging 2.17 per game. Both figures rank second in the Atlantic 10 behind Duquesne's Kadri-Ann Lass and are among the top 40 across all of Division I. The senior and Boston native has rejected at least one shot in each of her last 11 games in addition to 14 of her last 15.

As a junior in 2016-17 Mulligan posted a career-high 60 swats, which also was the third-best total by a Minutewoman in a single campaign.

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 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 just under 10 rebounds each night.

Verdi Approaching 100 Career Wins
Massachusetts head coach Tory Verdi logged his 95th career victory at the collegiate level in the win over La Salle on Jan. 28. Prior to arriving at UMass 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
The Minutewomen head South for a pair of contests, facing George Mason on Sun., Feb. 11, before closing the stretch at George Washington on Wed., Feb. 14.

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.

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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