University of Massachusets Athletics
Sunday, November 27
Miami, Fla.
1 PM
University of Massachusetts
6-1,0-0Atlantic 10
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FIU
-23,00 CUSA
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Women’s Basketball Tops FIU, 95-78, To Win FIU Thanksgiving Classic Championship
November 27, 2022 | Women's Basketball
The Minutewomen improve to 6-1 on the season after winning fifth straight contest.
MIAMI, Fla. – University of Massachusetts women's basketball closed out the FIU Thanksgiving Classic with a 95-78 win over Florida International University to garner the FIU Thanksgiving Classic Championship. The victory gives the Minutewomen their fifth straight, improving them to 6-1 on the season, while marking the first multi-team event tournament won by the program since the Brown Bear Classic in December of 2008.
Sam Breen led the way with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the year and 43rd of her career. Sydney Taylor with 25 points and matched a career best with nine boards. It marked the sixth game for Taylor in double figures, including her fourth consecutive contest with 20-plus points, while Breen reached 10-plus points for the fifth time this season. Destiney Philoxy, Ber'Nyah Mayo and Angelique Ngalakulondi also finished the afternoon in double figures, tallying 18, 11 and 10, respectively. Philoxy recorded a game best eight assists, while Mayo had a team-high three steals.
UMass went 36-for-62 (.581) from the field, including making 10-of-21 (.476) from the beyond the arc. The Minutewomen also went 13-for-17 (.765) from the charity stripe. The team outrebounded FIU 40-38, while outscoring the Panthers 48-26 in points in the paint.
The Minutewomen got off to a hot start in the opening quarter, with Taylor hitting a three-pointer just 22 seconds into play. After FIU made two free throws to make it a 3-2 contest, UMass dominated and began a 20-0 run, capped by Laila Fair earning her first two points in a UMass uniform, to make it 23-2. Massachusetts tallied four more points, while FIU recorded seven, with the Minutewomen leading 27-9 at the end of the first.
UMass and FIU registered five points apiece early in the second, with UMass still holding on to a 32-14 lead. The Panthers started to close the gap, getting within seven at the 2:12 mark, before ending the first half with a 22-8 run of their own and making it a four-point contest at 40-36, in favor of the Minutewomen.
In the third, Taylor and Philoxy opened the scoring with back-to-back triples, marking Taylor's third of the day, pulling ahead 46-36. A 12-3 run for UMass, sealed by Taylor's fourth three-pointer, extended the lead to 58-44. FIU garnered 15 points in the final four minutes and 48 seconds for the third quarter, but Massachusetts earned 12 to maintain a 70-59 lead, heading into the final frame.
A 15-5 run, lasting four minutes and 19 seconds, in the fourth aided the Minutewomen to a 20-point lead at 85-65. The Panthers went on an 11-3 run of their own to make it an 88-76 contest, but UMass scored seven more points, including a three ball from Breen with 1:18 remaining, to win the FIU Thanksgiving Classic with a final score of 95-78.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Taylor was awarded the FIU Thanksgiving Classic MVP, while Breen was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Massachusetts returns to the Mullins Center on Wednesday, Nov. 30, to face Yale. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on NESN+/ESPN+.
Sam Breen led the way with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the year and 43rd of her career. Sydney Taylor with 25 points and matched a career best with nine boards. It marked the sixth game for Taylor in double figures, including her fourth consecutive contest with 20-plus points, while Breen reached 10-plus points for the fifth time this season. Destiney Philoxy, Ber'Nyah Mayo and Angelique Ngalakulondi also finished the afternoon in double figures, tallying 18, 11 and 10, respectively. Philoxy recorded a game best eight assists, while Mayo had a team-high three steals.
UMass went 36-for-62 (.581) from the field, including making 10-of-21 (.476) from the beyond the arc. The Minutewomen also went 13-for-17 (.765) from the charity stripe. The team outrebounded FIU 40-38, while outscoring the Panthers 48-26 in points in the paint.
The Minutewomen got off to a hot start in the opening quarter, with Taylor hitting a three-pointer just 22 seconds into play. After FIU made two free throws to make it a 3-2 contest, UMass dominated and began a 20-0 run, capped by Laila Fair earning her first two points in a UMass uniform, to make it 23-2. Massachusetts tallied four more points, while FIU recorded seven, with the Minutewomen leading 27-9 at the end of the first.
UMass and FIU registered five points apiece early in the second, with UMass still holding on to a 32-14 lead. The Panthers started to close the gap, getting within seven at the 2:12 mark, before ending the first half with a 22-8 run of their own and making it a four-point contest at 40-36, in favor of the Minutewomen.
In the third, Taylor and Philoxy opened the scoring with back-to-back triples, marking Taylor's third of the day, pulling ahead 46-36. A 12-3 run for UMass, sealed by Taylor's fourth three-pointer, extended the lead to 58-44. FIU garnered 15 points in the final four minutes and 48 seconds for the third quarter, but Massachusetts earned 12 to maintain a 70-59 lead, heading into the final frame.
A 15-5 run, lasting four minutes and 19 seconds, in the fourth aided the Minutewomen to a 20-point lead at 85-65. The Panthers went on an 11-3 run of their own to make it an 88-76 contest, but UMass scored seven more points, including a three ball from Breen with 1:18 remaining, to win the FIU Thanksgiving Classic with a final score of 95-78.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Taylor was awarded the FIU Thanksgiving Classic MVP, while Breen was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Massachusetts returns to the Mullins Center on Wednesday, Nov. 30, to face Yale. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on NESN+/ESPN+.
Team Stats
UMass
FIU
FG%
.581
.368
3FG%
.476
.343
FT%
.765
.667
RB
40
38
TO
18
14
STL
8
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
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