Women's Basketball Returns to Mullins Center For A Midweek Matchup With Dayton

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 18	Massachusetts (14-3, 2-1 Atlantic 10) vs. Dayton (12-3, 3-0 Atlantic 10)
Date // Time	Wednesday, January 19 // 7 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. // Mullins Center
Watch	NESN+
Stream	ESPN+
Live Statistics	LiveStats
Game Notes	Massachusetts // Dayton
Spectator Policies	2021-22 In-Arena 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
For the most updated in-arena policies for the Mullins Center, please visit here.

Last Time Out
University of Massachusetts moved to 14-3 overall and 2-1 in the Atlantic 10 conference after falling to Rhode Island, 66-58, in the team's first road loss of the season.

Sam Breen led the way with 25 points and 13 rebounds, recording her 10th double-double of the season and 33rd of her career. Destiney Philoxy and Ber'Nyah Mayo also finished with 10-plus points, collecting 11 and 10, respectively. Philoxy earned a team-high five assists, while Breen swiped the ball a game-high four times. Angelique Ngalakulondi tallied a team best three blocks.

All-Time Series vs. Dayton
The Minutewomen and the Flyers are meeting for the 28th time, with Dayton leading the all-time series, 16-11, including having the slight edge in the Amherst series, 6-8. The two teams' first met at Dayton on February 21, 1996 where Massachusetts won 65-53. The last meeting between UMass and Dayton occurred on February 12, 2019 at the Mullins Center. The Flyers came out on top, escaping the Minutewomen, 52-51.

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.

On Jan. 11, Massachusetts received three votes and this week (Jan. 17), the Minutewomen received seven in the USA Today's Sports WBCA poll.

Shaking Up the Record Book
Along with becoming 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, UMass has one of the best starting records to a season in all of program history with 14-3, tying with the 2019-20 season through 18 games. The Minutewomen tied the 1968-69 season (only a 15 game season) for one of the best starting records to season (13-2) with their win over VCU on Jan. 12, 2022.

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 73.4 points per game (1,247 pts), with Richmond slightly ahead in total points by one, averaging the same ppg. The team also is second in the scoring margin with 11.2 per game.

With a 43.0 field goal percentage (465-of-1,082), UMass sits in third, while ranking first in rebounding offense (42.8 rpg), tallying 15.4 offensive rebounds per game. They are also first in rebounding defense with a 32.2 average and in rebounding margin with 10.5. The team is 15th in the nation in total rebounds (727), tied for 27th in rebounds per game (42.7) and is seventh in rebound margin (10.5).

Sam Breen currently ranks third in the conference in scoring with a 17.1 ppg (291 pts), and is first in rebounds with 11.1 per game, 189 boards total. In the nation, she is sixth in rebounds and tied for ninth with 10 double-doubles this season, while ranking 18th in defensive rebounds per game (7.7; 131 total). Breen also is ranked in field goal attempts (T-6th; 283) and rebounds per game (15th; 11.1).

Sydney Taylor sits in fifth in scoring (16.3 ppg, 277 pts) in the A-10 and is fourth with 2.6 three-point FGs per game. In the nation, Taylor is tied for sixth in 3FGs attempted (133) and tied for 22nd in 3FGs made (44).

Angelique Ngalakulondi is 68-for-113 from the field, placing first in the A-10 with a 60.2 percentage. She is also first in total offensive rebounds (74) and in offensive rebounds per game with a 4.4 average. In the nation, Ngalakulondi ranks ninth in the offensive rpg category. Destiney Philoxy has aided her teammates, averaging 5.5 assists per game (93 total), to sit in first in the league, while tying for 14th 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 program 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 tied in 17th in career points (1,105), while Philoxy is now 20th in career points (1,071) 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. The graduate student has also collected 666 career rebounds, so far, to place 10th in all-time career records, surpassing Crystal Carroll (663; 1993-97). Philoxy hit 400-plus career assists on Dec. 11, 2021. She is now etched in fourth in the career records all-time with 434, so far, 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 89-75.

"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 14 of 16 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. At VCU, the junior finished with a new career-high 32 points that led the way for the Minutewomen and added 16 more at Richmond.

The Huntington Station, N.Y., native, is fifth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, tallying 277 points (16.3 ppg). She also sits in fourth in three-point field goals per game, averaging 2.6, with 44 recorded (2nd in the league). In the nation, Taylor is tied for sixth in 3FGs attempted (133) and tied for 22nd with 44 3FGs made.

Queen[s] of the Assist (well, almost)
Senior Destiney Philoxy has established herself among the top ball distributors in the country, averaging 6.5 assists per game last year. That ranks tied for fifth in the country, with Syracuse's Tiana Mangakahia (7.5 apg) in the national lead and Philoxy. In terms of total assists (156), Philoxy was No. 8 in Division I last season.

The Queens, N.Y. native set up a career-high 11 buckets in the Davidson win on Jan. 8, 2021, and became the first UMass player since Megan Zullo (2010-11) to have multiple games in the same season with 10-plus assists–the other being on Jan. 3 at La Salle (10). She recorded eight-plus dimes in eight games last season.

Philoxy continued to add her to her total, contributing a team-leading 10 assists in the 2021-22 season-opener on Nov. 9, and tying her career high of 11 on Dec. 22 at Hartford. She sits in first in the league currently with 93 assists (5.5 assists/game), and is tied for 14th in the nation.

Next Up
UMass will be back on the road on Saturday, January 22, for a 2 p.m. tilt at George Washington. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

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