St. Bonaventure Visits Mullins Center Saturday

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 20	St. Bonaventure (4-14, 1-4 A-10) at Massachusetts (11-8, 3-2 A-10)
Date // Time	Saturday, Jan. 26 // 2 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. // Mullins Center
Stream	ESPN+
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Stats
Game Notes	Massachusetts // St. Bonaventure
Twitter	@UMassAthletics // @UMassWBB // @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball
Facebook	UMass Women's Basketball
Tickets	UMass Athletics Ticket Central
Special Events	National Girls & Women in Sports Day

Saturday's Game Day Events
The first 150 students to enter the Mullins Center on Saturday will receive a free UMass scarf, while the first 300 fans through the general public entrance will be given a reusable UMass tote bag.

In conjunction with National Girls & Women in Sports Day, the UMass women's basketball team will be hosting a one-hour instructional basketball clinic (presented by UMassFive College Credit Union) in the John Francis Kennedy Champions Center. Fans age 12 and under with a game ticket can participate for free in the clinic, which will be led by UMass players and coaches. Those who take part will receive a complimentary UMass basketball t-shirt and an autograph session with the Minutewomen will be held at the conclusion of the afternoon.

Be Social!
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.

Recap in a Minute
The Minutewomen are coming off of a thrilling 70-58 road win at Davidson on Sun., Jan. 20. After being handed a tough setback to George Mason at home on Wed., Jan. 16, the squad answered with 18 points from Vashnie Perry which tied the junior's single-game career-high. Classmate and co-captain Hailey Leidel added 15 points and seven boards in the triumph.

Senior Genesis Rivera was an additional bright spot for the Maroon and White in the Davidson victory, with one of her best individual performances since transferring to UMass. Rivera, who came off the bench to play 25 minutes, contributed a season-best 12 points, plus five rebounds, a pair of assists, one steal and a block.

Sharp-Shooting Squad
Massachusetts enters the weekend as the second-best shooting team in the Atlantic 10 with a team field goal percentage of 40.8, while also holding the top three-point mark (34.1 percent) in the league. The latter ranks No. 70 nationally with Oregon State atop the Division I ranks.

Good Things Come in Threes
With three makes from downtown at Davidson on Jan. 20, Hailey Leidel now has put down 200 three-pointers in her UMass career, setting a new program record in that category. Former Minutewoman Katie Nelson previously held the mark with 191 makes from 2001-06.

Averaging 15 points throughout her time in Amherst, Leidel is 12th on the all-time scoring list at UMass with 1,185 career points. She needs just one point to tie former Minutewoman Tamara Tatham (1,186; 2003-07) for 11th while Jasmine Watson is 10th (1,291; 2009-13).

Climbing to the Top
Now a senior, fans have watched Jessica George grow tremendously during her time at Massachusetts. After seeing just 13 games as a freshman in 2015-16, George has settled into the starting five and taken on a leadership role as a co-captain with Leidel. She is frequently on the floor for over 30 minutes per game and has scored double figures in six of her last seven contests. In the La Salle win on Jan. 13, the Maryland native also contributed five assists, two short of a career-high.

Massachusetts is 5-1 this season when George puts down more than 12 points.

McCoy...That Rings a Bell
As part of an 11-point showing at La Salle on Jan. 13, freshman Asia McCoy showed a flair for the dramatic with a half-court buzzer-beater to close the second quarter.

McCoy is not related to Jim McCoy, the all-time leading scorer for the UMass men's basketball program. Longtime fans will recall that Jim McCoy connected from 66 feet before halftime against Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA Sweet 16. Coincidentally, that game was also played in Philadelphia a few miles away at The Spectrum.

From South Hadley to Scholarship
Senior Mackenzie Sullivan was awarded a full scholarship during a team meeting held on Sat., Jan. 12. Sullivan, a native of nearby South Hadley, Massachusetts, initially walked on to the Minutewomen squad in Sept. 2018.

"Mackenzie earned that scholarship because she comes to practice every single day and is exactly what we want to coach here at the University of Massachusetts," said head coach Tory Verdi. "She's an unbelievable teammate, she's coachable and she brings it each and every day. Mackenzie is relied upon and is well-deserving of her scholarship."

Home Cookin' (We recommend the clam chowdah)
Massachusetts has won eight of its last 11 contests played within the confines of the Mullins Center. "The Bill" has generally been kind to the Maroon and White recently as the squad boasts a winning record on the home hardwood in each season dating back to 2014-15.

Starting Fresh
Massachusetts' win over Saint Louis win on Jan. 6 snapped the team's nine-game losing streak against the Billikens dating back to Jan. 19, 2011. It also marked the first time since 2012-13 that the Minutewomen opened up the Atlantic 10 schedule on the winning end.

Welcome to the Show
Freshman Asia McCoy enjoyed a breakout game despite a losing effort at Northeastern on Sun., Dec. 2 with her first career double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds). The Lawrenceville, Georgia native has made nine starts on the season and shot 5-of-9 en route to a 14-point showing against Saint Louis on Jan. 6.

McCoy highlights a trio of impact freshmen along with Jessica Nelson and Destiney Philoxy, in addition to redshirt freshman Anil Soysal.

George Collects Atlantic 10 Weekly Honor
Jessica George was tabbed a co-recipient of the Atlantic 10's Player of the Week award on Mon., Dec. 31. She was key in UMass' Sat., Dec. 29 victory at Marist, a 70-55 decision to conclude the non-conference schedule. The native of Waldorf, Maryland put down a game-high and career-high 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including a 6-of-8 showing from three-point land. George added three rebounds plus one steal and one assist and did not have a single turnover in her 38 minutes played.

'90s on 9
Helped in part by a 55.9 percent (38-of-68) showing from the field and 53.3 percent (8-of-15) clip from three-point land, UMass never trailed and picked up a convincing 90-61 win over Brown on Sat., Nov. 24. The last time the Minutewomen put up at least 90 points against a Division I foe was on Jan. 22, 2008 in the squad's non-conference finale, a 91-57 rout of Yale in Amherst at the Mullins Center.

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

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jessica George

Hailey Leidel

Asia McCoy

Jessica Nelson

Vashnie Perry

Destiney Philoxy

Genesis Rivera

Anil Soysal

Mackenzie Sullivan

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics