University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, February 5
Amherst, Mass.
12 PM
University of Massachusetts
17-5,5-3Atlantic 10
69
vs
66
Saint Louis
6-13,2-5Atlantic 10
1
2
3
4
F
Saint Louis
23
9
15
19
66
Massachusetts
16
21
11
21
69
Photo by: THOM KENDALL FOR UMASS ATHLETICS
Women's Basketball Holds Off Saint Louis, 69-66
February 05, 2022 | Women's Basketball
Taylor led the Minutewomen with 22 points, with Philoxy tallying 20.
AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts women's basketball team held off Saint Louis University to edge out a 69-66 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center.
UMass improves to 17-5 on the year, including 5-3 in the Atlantic 10 conference, while Saint Louis moves to 6-13 overall and 2-5 in the league.
Sydney Taylor led the Minutewomen with 22 points, followed closely by Destiney Philoxy with 20 of her own. Sam Breen also reached double digits, totaling 10 points. Taylor went 10-for-19 (.526) from the field, knocking down two of her five attempts from behind the arc. Breen and Makennah White both came down with nine rebounds apiece, while Breen tallied a game-high seven assists. The duo of Breen and Philoxy added three steals each to the scoresheet.
Massachusetts shot 71.4 percent from the charity stripe, making 5-of-7. The Minutewomen outrebounded the Billikens, 42-36, and had more points in the paint (46), second chance points (16) and fast break points (18) over their opponents.
UMass got off to a slow start, as Saint Louis began an 8-0 run to take a 10-2 lead. Philoxy aided the Minutewomen back within four with a made layup and a three-pointer at the 4:17 mark, but the Billikens responded with their own three to extend the lead to 16-9. Taylor made back-to-back-to-back shots, putting up two layups and knocking down a triple to bring the score to 23-16, in favor of Saint Louis, to end the first quarter.
Massachusetts opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run, seeing four points from Ber'Nyah Mayo. At the 6:20 mark, Mayo drove to the rack to closing the gap to one, at 25-24. Two layups for Saint Louis pulled the team ahead, 29-24, before a 6-0 run saw Angelique Ngalakulondi give UMass the go-ahead basket and began an eventual 11-0 run for the Minutewomen. Mayo drained a triple in the active run, making it a 33-29 contest, before Ngalakulondi added two good free throws to extend the lead, 35-29. The Billikens accumulated three more points to bring them within three and Philoxy closed the half with a jumper to maintain the lead.
Heading into the third, 37-32, the Minutewomen and Billikens traded a few points, with UMass clinging to its lead. Taylor made two consecutive baskets, pushing Massachusetts to a six-point lead, before a Saint Louis three-pointer brought the Billikens back within three. Saint Louis got off to another 8-2 run, knotting the game up at 45 apiece at the 2:48 mark, but Taylor's second triple of the day gave the Minutewomen the 48-45 lead. With only 58 seconds left in the quarter, the Billikens added two points to put them behind by one.
In the final frame, UMass and Saint Louis traded layups at the start, but a 7-3 run that elapsed four minutes and 34 seconds for the Minutewomen helped them to a 57-52 lead over the Billikens. Massachusetts and Saint Louis kept the score close in the final minutes, with UMass holding on to the advantage. Saint Louis' Peyton Kennedy made her layup to bring the score to 67-66, as UMass held the lead, but Philoxy made a pair of shots from the charity stripe to seal the deal for the Minutewomen and help them to a 69-66 triumph.
UMass hit the road on Wednesday, February 9, for a 7 p.m. contest at St. Bonaventure, in Olean, N.Y. The matchup will be aired on ESPN+.
UMass improves to 17-5 on the year, including 5-3 in the Atlantic 10 conference, while Saint Louis moves to 6-13 overall and 2-5 in the league.
Sydney Taylor led the Minutewomen with 22 points, followed closely by Destiney Philoxy with 20 of her own. Sam Breen also reached double digits, totaling 10 points. Taylor went 10-for-19 (.526) from the field, knocking down two of her five attempts from behind the arc. Breen and Makennah White both came down with nine rebounds apiece, while Breen tallied a game-high seven assists. The duo of Breen and Philoxy added three steals each to the scoresheet.
Massachusetts shot 71.4 percent from the charity stripe, making 5-of-7. The Minutewomen outrebounded the Billikens, 42-36, and had more points in the paint (46), second chance points (16) and fast break points (18) over their opponents.
UMass got off to a slow start, as Saint Louis began an 8-0 run to take a 10-2 lead. Philoxy aided the Minutewomen back within four with a made layup and a three-pointer at the 4:17 mark, but the Billikens responded with their own three to extend the lead to 16-9. Taylor made back-to-back-to-back shots, putting up two layups and knocking down a triple to bring the score to 23-16, in favor of Saint Louis, to end the first quarter.
Massachusetts opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run, seeing four points from Ber'Nyah Mayo. At the 6:20 mark, Mayo drove to the rack to closing the gap to one, at 25-24. Two layups for Saint Louis pulled the team ahead, 29-24, before a 6-0 run saw Angelique Ngalakulondi give UMass the go-ahead basket and began an eventual 11-0 run for the Minutewomen. Mayo drained a triple in the active run, making it a 33-29 contest, before Ngalakulondi added two good free throws to extend the lead, 35-29. The Billikens accumulated three more points to bring them within three and Philoxy closed the half with a jumper to maintain the lead.
Heading into the third, 37-32, the Minutewomen and Billikens traded a few points, with UMass clinging to its lead. Taylor made two consecutive baskets, pushing Massachusetts to a six-point lead, before a Saint Louis three-pointer brought the Billikens back within three. Saint Louis got off to another 8-2 run, knotting the game up at 45 apiece at the 2:48 mark, but Taylor's second triple of the day gave the Minutewomen the 48-45 lead. With only 58 seconds left in the quarter, the Billikens added two points to put them behind by one.
In the final frame, UMass and Saint Louis traded layups at the start, but a 7-3 run that elapsed four minutes and 34 seconds for the Minutewomen helped them to a 57-52 lead over the Billikens. Massachusetts and Saint Louis kept the score close in the final minutes, with UMass holding on to the advantage. Saint Louis' Peyton Kennedy made her layup to bring the score to 67-66, as UMass held the lead, but Philoxy made a pair of shots from the charity stripe to seal the deal for the Minutewomen and help them to a 69-66 triumph.
UMass hit the road on Wednesday, February 9, for a 7 p.m. contest at St. Bonaventure, in Olean, N.Y. The matchup will be aired on ESPN+.
Team Stats
SLU
UMass
FG%
.397
.462
3FG%
.500
.308
FT%
.625
.714
RB
36
42
TO
15
16
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
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