Home Finale as Minutewomen Host Richmond Wednesday

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 29	Richmond (8-19, 5-9 Atlantic 10) at Massachusetts (13-15, 5-9 Atlantic 10)
Date // Time	Wednesday, Feb. 27 // 7 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. // Mullins Center
Stream	ESPN+
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Stats
Game Notes	Massachusetts // Richmond
Twitter	@UMassAthletics // @UMassWBB // @CoachVerdiUMass
Instagram	UMass Women's Basketball
Facebook	UMass Women's Basketball
Tickets	UMass Athletics Ticket Central
Special Events/ Giveaways	Fan Appreciation Night Fan Giveaway: Maroon T-Shirts Student Giveaway: Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy

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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 looking to snap out of a four-game skid, having most recently been dealt a 76-64 setback at Fordham on Sun., Feb., 24. Freshman Destiney Philoxy headlined a strong second half performance for Massachusetts with a career-high 26 points, followed up by 18 from junior Hailey Leidel. But in the end Massachusetts could not battle back from a 12-0 Fordham run to open the game as the Rams stretched their lead to as much as 20 in the third quarter.

Start Spreadin' the News
Playing in her native New York City for the first time as a Minutewoman, freshman Destiney Philoxy dropped 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go with five assists and four rebounds at Fordham (Feb. 24). It marked the highest scoring output by a UMass freshman since Bre Hampton-Bey put down 31 in a win over VCU on Jan. 21, 2018.

Elite Company
Junior Hailey Leidel had five rebounds at Fordham on Feb. 24, eclipsing the 500-board mark for her career. In doing so, Leidel became the 17th player in UMass history to record both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career and the first since Kim Pierre-Louis (2011-15).

Averaging 14.6 points throughout her time in Amherst, Leidel is 11th on the all-time scoring list at UMass with 1,289 career points. She needs three points to pass Jasmine Watson (2009-13) for 10th at UMass while Crystal Carroll (1993-97) sits in ninth place with 1,405 points.

Sharp-Shooting Squad
Massachusetts heads into Wednesday as the the second-best three-point shooting team (32.5 percent) in the Atlantic 10 Conference, while also ranking third in total field goal percentage (39.8) in the league.

Doubling the Fun
Leidel has turned in five double-double performances in her career, all throughout the 2018-19 season. Her first was in a come-from-behind win over UT Rio Grande Valley (Nov. 20), while Leidel also produced double-doubles in victories vs. Fairfield (Nov. 25), Incarnate Word (Dec. 7), at La Salle (Jan. 13) and vs. Duquesne (Feb. 7).

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
The Maroon and White conclude the regular season with a 2 p.m. contest at Rhode Island on Sat., March 2. From there, the squad will gear up for the Atlantic 10 First Round on Tues., March 5. Seeding, opponent and game time will be announced following games of March 2.

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

Jessica George

Bre Hampton-Bey

Hailey Leidel

Asia McCoy

Jessica Nelson

Destiney Philoxy

Anil Soysal

Mackenzie Sullivan

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics