Women's Basketball Travels To VCU For Wednesday Night Match Up

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 15	Massachusetts (12-2) at VCU (7-5)
Date // Time	Wednesday, January 12 // 6 p.m.
Location	Richmond, Va. // Siegel Center
Watch	ESPN+
Stream	ESPN+
Live Statistics	LiveStats
Game Notes	Massachusetts // VCU
Spectator Policies	VCU Athletics' COVID-19 Policies
Social Media	Facebook: UMass Women's Basketball Twitter: @UMassWBB // @CoachVerdiUMass Instagram: @UMassWBB

The Need to Knows
Follow the Minutewomen 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 program. In addition, fans can follow head coach Tory Verdi on Twitter @CoachVerdiUMass.

COVID-19 Protocols
Per University policy, fans are required to wear a face mask while attending games at VCU Athletics facilities at all times, except when actively eating or drinking in their seats. This policy includes both indoor and outdoor events. Fans will not be permitted to enter games without a face mask. VCU Athletics is not requiring proof of vaccination status for fans at this time. For more information, click here.

Last Time Out
University of Massachusetts improved to 12-2 on the season after picking up an 86-40 win on the road over Hartford on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021.

Sydney Taylor led the way with 18 points, reaching double figures for the 12th time this season. Ber'Nyah Mayo and Angelique Ngalakulondi totaled 14 points apiece, while Mayo swiped the ball away five times. Sam Breen and Makennah White also finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Destiney Philoxy tied her career best 11 assists on the day and was one point shy from a double-double with nine.

All-Time Series vs. VCU
The Minutewomen and the Rams are meeting for the 13th time, with VCU leading the all-time series, 3-9, including the road series, 1-4. The two teams first met on March 23, 1995, at the WNIT. UMass took down VCU, 70-61, on the day. The programs' last meeting was at the Atlantic 10 Championship game on March 14, last season, when the Rams came away with the 81-69 triumph.

In the Latest Polls...
On January 4, the Minutewomen received one vote in the USA Today's Sports Women's Basketball Coaches Poll. It marks the first time UMass has received votes in a national poll since the 1994-95 season.

Shaking Up the Record Book
UMass is out to one of its best starts of the season since the 1968-69 season, when the Minutewomen were 12-2 through the first 14 games. The team also became the first team in program history to have the best start to a season since the enactment of Title IX and the recognition of women's sports by the NCAA.

Massachusetts was on a nine-game winning streak that dated back to last season (Mar. 20, 2021 - Nov. 27, 2021), before that came to an end when the team fell to No. 13 Iowa State. The nine consecutive wins for the Minutewomen matched the second most victories in a row achieved three times in program history - the 1968-69 inaugural season (9-0 to begin the year), in 1976-77 (Jan. 21, 1977-Feb. 8, 1977) and in 1997-98 (Feb.4-March 1, 1998).

Statistically Speaking
The Minutewomen are second in the Atlantic 10 conference in scoring offensively, averaging 74.6 points per game (1,044 pts). The team also is second in the scoring margin with 13.3 per game.

With a 43.7 field goal percentage (389-of-891), UMass sits in second, while ranking first in rebounding offense (43.8 rpg), tallying 15.4 offensive rebounds per game. The team sits in 18th in the nation in rebounds per game.

Sam Breen currently ranks second in the conference in scoring with a 17.1 ppg (240 pts), and in rebounds with 10.9 per game, 153 boards total. In the nation, she ranks 14th in rebounds and is tied for 13th with eight double-doubles this season, while ranking 12th in defensive rebounds per game (7.9; 110 total). Breen is also ranked in field goal attempts (26th; 226) and rebounds per game (18th; 10.9).

Sydney Taylor sits in fourth in the A-10 with 2.4 three-point FGs per game and seventh in scoring (15.9 ppg, 223 pts.). In the nation, Taylor is tied for 16th in 3FGs attempted (108).

Angelique Ngalakulondi is 61-for-98 from the field, placing first in the A-10 with a 62.2 percentage. Destiney Philoxy has aided her teammates, averaging 5.6 assists per game (78 total), to sit in first in the league, while tying for 22nd in the nation with her total dimes.

Walking the [Mile]Stone Path
Sam Breen and Destiney Philoxy each eclipsed their 1,000th career point on Dec. 8, 2021. They became the 21st and 22nd Minutewomen to achieve the feat, while becoming the third pair in progam history to earn it in the same season, and first since 2006-07. The duo may also be the first to reach the milestone in the same game in NCAA history. Breen is now 20th in career points, while Philoxy sits 21st in career points in program history.

In addition to reaching the career milestone, Breen reached 1,000 points in the Massachusetts uniform on Dec. 22, 2021 at Hartford. With just her UMass career, Breen would sit in 21st on the career points scored list. Philoxy hit 400-plus career assists on Dec. 11, 2021. She is now etched in fourth in the career records all-time, surpassing Leah McDerment (368; 2014-18)

Head Coach Tory Verdi is 11 wins away from achieving his 100th victory at the helm of Massachusetts. His current record with the Minutewomen stands at 89-74.

"Swish" Taylor
Junior Sydney Taylor has been one of the most improved Minutewomen since the 2019-20 season, and entered the WNIT ranking second on the team and No. 5 in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (15.2 ppg) last season. Taylor was outstanding during the 2020-21 A-10 Tournament, averaging a team-high 20 points and being named to the A-10 All-Championship Team alongside Sam Breen and Destiney Philoxy, while adding a career-high-tying 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting, that came in the Quarterfinal win over Fordham.

Taylor kept the momentum going into this season, logging double figures in 12 of 14 games played. She tallied a team best 16 points against Central Connecticut State in the season-opener, registered 17 against Harvard and added 25 points versus Iona, nearly tying her career best of 27. On the road, she has continued to have the hot hand, putting up 13 at Holy Cross, 26 over Providence, 23 more vs. South Dakota State, 16 in the win over Kent State, 19 at Columbia and 18 at Hartford.

The Huntington Station, N.Y., native, is seventh in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, tallying 223 points (15.9 ppg). She also sits in fourth in three-points field goals per game, averaging 2.4, with 34 recorded. In the nation, Taylor is tied for 16th in 3FGs attempted (108).

Ngalakulondi's Glass
Angelique Ngalakulondi was absolutely dominant on the offensive glass last season. Overall, the now junior avergaed 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, including going off for a career-high 19 points and nin rebounds vs. VCU (3/14/21). 34 of Ngalakulondi's 56 boards came at the offensive end in the 2020-21 season.

Ngalakulondi has averaged 7.3 rebounds per game for the Minutewomen in the 2021-22 season, coming down with a career best 14 at Columbia. The junior is first in the Atlantic 10 with 62 offensive rebounds in total, while ranking ninth in the nation with a 4.4 offensive rpg average.

Next Up
UMass continues its trip in Virginia with a match up at Richmond on Saturday, January 15, at 4 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Scoreboard