Minutewomen Host George Washington in Penultimate Home Game

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 27	George Washington (8-17, 5-7 Atlantic 10) at Massachusetts (13-13, 5-7 Atlantic 10)
Date // Time	Wednesday, Feb. 20 // 7 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. // Mullins Center
Stream	ESPN+
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Stats
Game Notes	Massachusetts // George Washington
Twitter	@UMassAthletics // @UMassWBB // @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball
Facebook	UMass Women's Basketball
Tickets	UMass Athletics Ticket Central
Special Events/ Giveaways	Youth Night Fan Giveaway: Water Bottles Student Giveaway: Padfolios

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Recap in a Minute
Massachusetts is looking to get back into the win column after a pair of tough losses at the hands of Saint Joseph's (Feb. 13) and Davidson (Feb. 16). Most recently against Davidson, UMass was unable to overcome a pair of early runs by the Wildcats in a 64-49 setback. Senior Jessica George along with freshman Destiney Philoxy contributed 11 points each for the home squad and George added six rebounds in the matchup. Junior Hailey Leidel handed out seven assists, four steals and two blocks.

The All-Time Series With George Washington
Historically, GW has had UMass' number and has claimed the last six meetings of the sides following a Jan. 12, 2013 win by the Minutewomen. Last season in Washington, D.C., a strong fourth quarter comeback effort came up just short as the Maroon and White fell, 55-49, despite a game-high 16 points and 12 rebounds from UMass alumna Maggie Mulligan.

Sharp-Shooting Squad
Massachusetts heads into Wednesday as the the top three-point shooting team (33.1 percent) in the Atlantic 10 Conference, while also holding the fourth-best total field goal percentage (40.1) in the league. The former ranks in the top 100 nationally with Oregon atop the Division I ranks.

Good Things Come in Threes
With one make from downtown against Davidson on Feb. 16, Hailey Leidel now has put down 213 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 14.7 points throughout her time in Amherst, Leidel is 11th on the all-time scoring list at UMass with 1,267 career points. She needs 25 points to pass Jasmine Watson (2009-13) for 10th at UMass while Crystal Carroll (1993-97) sits in ninth place with 1,405 points.

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 11 times this season. 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.

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."

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 16 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.

Next Up
Massachusetts visits Fordham's Rose Hill Gymnasium on Sun., Feb. 24 in a 2 p.m. Atlantic 10 game.

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

Jessica George

Hailey Leidel

Asia McCoy

Maggie Mulligan

Jessica Nelson

Destiney Philoxy

Anil Soysal

Mackenzie Sullivan

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics