Women's Basketball Completes Three-Game Homestand With Fordham On Wednesday Night

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 26	Massachusetts (20-5, 8-3 Atlantic 10) vs. Fordham (16-6, 7-3 Atlantic 10)
Date // Time	Wednesday, February 16 // 7 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. // Mullins Center
Watch	NESN+
Stream	ESPN+
Live Statistics	LiveStats
Game Notes	Massachusetts // Fordham
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 is now 20-5 overall, including 8-3 in the Atlantic 10, after winning 89-59 against Duquesne on Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center. The Minutewomen are tied with both the 1995-96 adn 2019-20 seasons for the most wins in program history.

Five Minutewomen reached double figures, led by Destiney Philoxy with 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on the day. Sydney Taylor collected 18 points, Sam Breen grabbed 13, Ber'Nyah Mayo tallied 11 and Angelique Ngalakulondi added 10. Mayo also totaled nine boards and earned a game-high four steals.

All-Time Series vs. Fordham
The Minutewomen and the Rams are meeting for the 46th time, with UMass edging the all-time series with a 23-22 advantage, and leading the series at Mullins, 14-7. The two program's first met on Feb. 29, 1980, in the EAIAW Tournament, held in Bronx, N.Y. Fordham defeated UMass, 81-63 on the day. The last meeting between UMass and Fordham took place on March 12, 2021 in the A-10 Quarterfinals, where Massachusetts came out on top, 80-70.

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 20-5, surpassing with the 2019-20 season through 25 games (16-9) and tying the most wins in program history with the 1995-96 and 2019-20 seasons. 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 72.7 points per game (1,818 pts), with Richmond following close behind, averaging 71.2 ppg (1,781 total). The team also is second in the scoring margin with 12.1 per game.

With a 43.6 field goal percentage (690-of-1,584), UMass sits in third, while ranking second in combined team rebounds (41.6 rpg), tallying 14.3 offensive rebounds per game (1st; 358 total). They are also first in rebounding margin with 9.4. The team is 14th in the nation in total rebounds (1,039) and in rebound margin (9.4), being one of three A-10 teams in the top-25 of the category (URI - 15th; Dayton - T-23rd).

Sam Breen currently ranks fifth in the conference in scoring with a 16.2 ppg (406 pts), and is second in rebounds with 10.6 per game, placing first in total boards with 264. In the nation, she is tied for 12th in rebounds and tied for 11th with 15 double-doubles this season. Breen also is ranked in field goal attempts (12th; 404), field goals made (T-25th; 166) and rebounds per game (T-24th; 10.6).

Sydney Taylor sits in seventh in scoring (15.8 ppg, 396 pts) in the A-10 and is second with 2.6 three-point FGs per game. In the nation, Taylor is 10th in 3FGs attempted (183) and tied for 17th in 3FGs made (64).

Angelique Ngalakulondi is 93-for-154 from the field, placing first in the A-10 with a 60.4 percentage. She is also second in total offensive rebounds (87) and in offensive rebounds per game with a 3.5 average. Destiney Philoxy has aided her teammates, averaging 5.8 assists per game (144 total), to sit in first in the league, while tying for 10th in the nation with her total dimes and 13th in assist per game. Ber'Nyah Mayo is second in the league with 60 steals (2.4 per game)

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 (1,220), while Philoxy is now 14th in career points (1,179) in program history, passing Nekole Smith on the list (1,165; 1998-03).

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 (1,176). The graduate student has also collected 741 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 485, 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 five wins away from achieving his 100th victory at the helm of Massachusetts. His current record with the Minutewomen stands at 95-77.

"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 20 of 25 games played. She has had 14 games with 10-plus points and five contests with 20-plus points. The junior finished with a new career-high 32 points that led the way for the Minutewomen at VCU.

The Huntington Station, N.Y., native, is seventh in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, tallying 396 points (15.8 ppg). She also sits in second in three-point field goals per game, averaging 2.6, with 64 recorded (T-2nd in the league). In the nation, Taylor is 10th in 3FGs attempted (183) and tied for 17th in 3FGs made (64).

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 144 assists (5.8 assists/game), and is tied for 10th in the nation. The senior has had three contests, so far this season, with 10-plus assists.

Next Up
UMass travels to Davidson, N.C., on Sunday, February 20, to take on Davidson. The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network with tip off slated for 12 p.m.

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