University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Harvard
Women's Basketball Set To Face In-State Rival Harvard On Friday
November 16, 2022 | Women's Basketball
The Minutewomen and Crimson tipoff at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
| University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information | |
| Game 4 | Massachusetts (2-1) at Harvard (2-0) |
| Date // Time | Friday, Nov. 18Â // 7Â p.m. |
| Location | Cambridge, Mass. //Â Lavietes Pavilion |
| Watch | ESPN+ |
| Stream | ESPN+ |
| Live Statistics | LiveStats |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts // Harvard |
| Social Media | Facebook:Â UMass Women's Basketball Twitter:Â @UMassWBBÂ //Â @CoachVerdiUMass Instagram:Â @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.
Last Time Out
University of Massachusetts topped the University of Maine, 67-54, on Monday night at the Mullins Center to get back into the the win column.Â
Five Minutewomen reached double figures on the night, led by Sydney Taylor with 18 points. Angelique Ngalakulondi (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Sam Breen (11 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded a double-double in the victory, while Ber'Nyah Mayo and Makennah White tallied 11 points of their own. The Minutewomen went on their longest run of season, going 31-0 throughout the second quarter into the third, as Massachusetts held its opponent scoreless in the second quarter.Â
All-Time Series vs. Harvard
Massachusetts and Harvard will meet for the 23rd time in program history, with UMass holding a 13-9 advantage in the all-time series. The Minutewomen have the lead over the Crimson in the road series, 6-5. UMass and Harvard last met on Nov. 12, 2021, when Massachusetts defeated Harvard, 80-71, on the day. UMass looks for its first win on the road over Harvard since a 78-74 triumph on Feb. 13, 1990.
In the Latest Polls...
On Oct. 26, 2022, the Minutewomen received one vote in the USA TODAY/WCBA Coaches Poll. In the Nov. 15, 2022, USA TODAY/WCBA Coaches Poll, UMass received two votes.
Statistically Speaking
The Minutewomen currently sit in seventh the Atlantic 10 conference in scoring offensively, averaging 68.0 points per game (204 pts), while placing fifth in defensive scoring with a 61.7 average (185 pts). The team is also seventh with a 6.3 scoring margin.
UMass ranks second in combined team rebounds (43.7 rpg), tallying 15.7 offensive rebounds per game (1st; 47 total. The Minutewomen are fifth with a 6.7 rebounding margin.
Sam Breen is first in the conference in scoring with 20.0 ppg (60 pts), and in rebounds with 10.0 per game, tying for second in total boards with 30 and first in offensive rebounds (14). In the nation, she sits tied for 24th in rebounds and tied for sixth with two double-doubles this season, being one of three A-10 player s with two double-doubles this season.
Sydney Taylor sits in 18th in scoring (12.7 ppg, 38 pts) in the A-10 and 15th with 2.0 3FGs per game. Taylor is fifth in assists, averaging 4.7 per game (14 total).
Makennah White averaged 7.7 reboudns per game, so far, this season, to place 13th in the A-10. She is tied for fourth with 3.7 offensive rebounds per game (11 total).
Destiney Philoxy continue to aid her teammates, dishing out 12 dimes, averaging 4.0 assists per game, placing ninth, currently, in the league. She is also ninth in steals with 2.3 per game and seven total.
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 ninth in career points (1,445), passing Julie Ready (1,406; 1977-81), while Philoxy is now 13th in career points (1,263) in program history, passing Tamara Tatham on the list (1,186; 2003-07). Sydney Taylor will look to get herself on the career points list this season, as the senior is 29 points away from 1,000, totaling 971.
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 be in 11th on the career points scored list (1,401). The graduate student has also collected 786 career rebounds with the Minutewomen, so far, to place seventh in all-time career records, passing Tamara Tatham (755; 2003- 07) on the list. Philoxy hit 400-plus career assists on Dec. 11, 2021 and 500-plus career assists on Feb. 26, 2022. She is now second in the career records all-time with 540, so far, passing Christel Zullo (533 - 1985-89). She is only the fourth Minutewomen to achieve 500-plus dimes and is 38 assists away from passing Sabriya Mitchell's 578 total (1994-98) and etching her name in first. Philoxy also played in her 100th career game on Jan. 22 at George Washington, while Breen reached her 100th career game played in the A-10 Quarterfinals vs. Fordham (March 4).
Philoxy has also put her name on the career steals list, ranking 11th with 164 total, so far, in her career. Fellow teammates Ber'Nyah Mayo and Sam Breen are etched on the career steals list in the record book, as Mayo sits in 14th with 132 total, passing Pam Rosanio (130; 2004-08), while Breen is tied for 15th with Rosanio with 130.
Head Coach Tory Verdi achieved his 100th victory at the helm of Massachusetts in the 76-58 win over Saint Joseph's in the A-10 Semifinals on March 5. His current record with the Minutewomen stands at 103-80.
Breen, the Double-Double Machine
Sam Breen added to her career total, in 2022-23, bringing it to 42 double-doubles after scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds at No. 5 Tennessee, and adding 11 points and 10 boards vs. Maine, almost earning a triple-double for the first time in her career.
Breen collected 17 double-doubles in the historic 2021-22 season at UMass, moving her career total to 40. Her 17 double-doubles in 32 games have helped the Breen tie for 18th in the nation. The graduate student recorded four consecutive double-doubles from Nov. 27 through Dec. 5, and again from Jan. 15 through Jan. 22. Breen was the only A-10 player last season to have as many double-doubles and be in the top-50 in the nation, while also being the only one to have 10-plus double- doubles.
Breen owned a league-leading 15 double-doubles last season and 23 in her career, including 14 such performances in the last 19 games of the 2020-21 season, and narrowly missed the feat in the final game of the season vs. Ohio (3/22/21)–finishing with 27 points and nine rebounds. She was one of just three players in the A-10 to average both double-figure scoring and rebounding. She finished last year second in scoring (18.0 ppg) and fourth in the league rebounding (10.0 rpg).
Breen was one of just 12 players nationally to own as many double-double performances during the 2020-21 season. The last time an Atlantic 10 player had 15 such games was during the 2017-18 season, when three players did so.
Next Up
The Minutewomen continue its road stretch with a Tuesday night tilt against UMass Lowell in Lowell, Mass. The contest is slated for a 6 p.m. tipoff on ESPN+ at the Tsongas Center.Â