.png&type=webp)
University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Duquesne
Women's Basketball Hosts Duquesne For Senior Day On Sunday
February 12, 2022 | Women's Basketball
The Minutewomen and Dukes tip off at 12 p.m., on CBS Sports.
| University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information | |
| Game 25 | Massachusetts (19-5, 7-3 Atlantic 10) vs. Duquesne (9-14, 4-7 Atlantic 10) |
| Date // Time | Sunday, February 13 // 12 p.m. |
| Location | Amherst, Mass. // Mullins Center |
| Watch | CBS Sports |
| Live Statistics | LiveStats |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts // Duquesne |
| 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.
Senior Day Honorees
The Minutewomen will honor Destiney Philoxy, Michelle Pruitt and Jessica Nelson prior to the contest, in celebration of senior day.
Last Time Out
University of Massachusetts improved to 19-5 overall, including 7-3 in the Atlantic 10, after winning 87-58 against George Mason on Friday afternoon at the Mullins Center. The Minutewomen are only one win shy for tying the most wins in program history at 20, with the 1995-96 and 2019-20 seasons being the other years to reach the triumph mark.
Four Minutewomen reached double figures, with Sydney Taylor leading with 27 points. Sam Breen followed with 15, while Makennah White and Alexzeya Brooks earned career-highs with 13 and 11, respectively. Breen recorded her second straight double-double, 15th of the season and 38th of her career after grabbing 11 rebounds. Destiney Philoxy led UMass in assists with 10 and in steals with four.
All-Time Series vs. Duquesne
The Minutewomen and the Dukes are meeting for the 54th time, with Duquesne holding a 29-24 advanatge in the series, while UMass leads the series at Mullins, 16-7. The two program's first met on Feb. 20, 1984, where Massachusetts came away with a 61059 road victory. The last meeting between UMass and Duquesne took place on Jan. 4, 2020. The Minutewomen won 81-77 on the day in Pittsburgh.
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 last week (Jan. 18), 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 at 19-5, surpassing with the 2019-20 season through 24 games (16-8). 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 first in the Atlantic 10 conference in scoring offensively, averaging 72.0 points per game (1,729 pts), with Richmond following close behind, averaging 71.1 ppg (1,706 total). The team also is third in the scoring margin with 11.3 per game.
With a 43.9 field goal percentage (654-of-1,513), UMass sits in third, while ranking second in combined team rebounds (41.5 rpg), tallying 14.4 offensive rebounds per game (1st; 345 total). They are also first in rebounding margin with 9.1. The team is 13th in the nation in total rebounds (995) and is 15th in rebound margin (9.1), being one of three A-10 teams in the top-25 of the category (URI - 14th; Dayton - 25th).
Sam Breen currently ranks fifth in the conference in scoring with a 16.4 ppg (393 pts), and is second in rebounds with 10.8 per game, 260 boards total. In the nation, she is eighth in rebounds and tied for seventh with 15 double-doubles this season, while ranking 29th in defensive rebounds per game (7.3; 175 total). Breen also is ranked in field goal attempts (14th; 388), field goals made (24th; 161) and rebounds per game (21st; 10.8).
Sydney Taylor sits in seventh in scoring (15.8 ppg, 378 pts) in the A-10 and is third with 2.5 three-point FGs per game. In the nation, Taylor is tied for eighth in 3FGs attempted (178) and tied for 16th in 3FGs made (61).
Angelique Ngalakulondi is 88-for-145 from the field, placing first in the A-10 with a 60.7 percentage. She is also second in total offensive rebounds (83) and tied for first in offensive rebounds per game with a 3.5 average. Destiney Philoxy has aided her teammates, averaging 5.6 assists per game (135 total), to sit in first in the league, while placing 11th 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 12th in career points (1,207), while Philoxy is now 15th in career points (1,153) in program history, passing Tez Kraft on the list (1,144; 1994-99).
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 15th on the career points scored list. The graduate student has also collected 737 career rebounds, so far, to place eighth in all-time career records, surpassing Jasmine Watson (731; 2009-13). Philoxy hit 400-plus career assists on Dec. 11, 2021. She is now etched in fourth in the career records all-time with 476, so far, surpassing Leah McDerment (368 - 2014-18). Philoxy also played in her 100th career game on Jan. 22 at George Washington.
Head Coach Tory Verdi is six wins away from achieving his 100th victory at the helm of Massachusetts. His current record with the Minutewomen stands at 94-77.
Breen, the Double-Double Machine
Sam Breen has collected 15 double-doubles on the season for UMass, moving her career total to 38. She tallied double-doubles against Harvard, Iona, Holy Cross, versus Kent State, against No. 13 Iowa State, Fairfield, UMass Lowell, Vermont at Richmond, at Rhode Island, vs. Dayton, at George Washington, at Saint Joseph's, at St. Bonaventure and vs George Mason, so far this season. Her 15 double-doubles in 24 games have helped the graduate student tie for seventh in the nation. The graduate student recorded four consecutive double-doubles from Nov. 27 through Dec. 5.
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 last season. The last time an Atlantic 10 player had 15 such games was during the 2017-18 season, when three players did so.
Queen[s] of the Assist (well, almost)
Senior Destiney Philoxy has established herself among the top ball distributors in the country, as she averaged 6.5 assists per game last year. That ranked 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 135 assists (5.6 assists/game), and is 11th in the nation.
Next Up
UMass caps its homestand on Wednesday, February 16, as the team hosts Fordham for Bring Your Daughter to the Game day. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. on NESN+.
