Women's Basketball Prepares For Wednesday Night Match Up At St. Bonaventure

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 23	Massachusetts (17-5, 5-3 Atlantic 10) at St.Bonaventure (12-9, 4-6 Atlantic 10)
Date // Time	Wednesday, February 9 // 7 p.m.
Location	St. Bonaventure, N.Y. // Reilly Center
Watch	ESPN+
Stream	ESPN+
Live Statistics	LiveStats
Game Notes	Massachusetts // St. Bonaventure
Spectator Policies	St. Bonaventure's 2021-22 COVID-19 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
In accordance with New York state's new mask-or-vaccinate policy for public spaces, St. Bonaventure University is now requiring that fans age 5 and over be vaccinated for COVID-19 to attend the remainder of the men's and women's basketball games at the Reilly Center. For more information, click here.

Last Time Out
University of Massachusetts improved to 17-5 overall, including 5-3 in the Atlantic 10, after holding off Saint Louis, 69-66, at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon.

Sydney Taylor led the Minutewomen with 22 points, followed closely by Sam Breen with 20 points of her own. Breen and Makennah White sat atop the leaderboard in rebounds with nine apiece, while Breen totaled a career-high seven assists. Destiney Philoxy tallied 10 points and added three steals to the score sheet, along with Breen.

All-Time Series vs. St. Bonaventure
The Minutewomen and the Bonnies are meeting for the 64th time, with UMass holding a 34-29 advanatge in the series, while St. Bonaventure leads the road series, 12-16. The two program's first met on Jan. 3, 1987, when the Minutewomen won, 63-53. The last meeting between Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure was in the first round of the A-10 Championship on March 3, 2020. The Minutewomen knocked off the Bonnies, 72-54, to advance to the A-10 Quarterfinals.

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 17-5, surpassing with the 2019-20 season through 22 games (16-6). 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 71.1 points per game (1,564 pts), with Richmond following close behind, averaging 71.1 ppg, as well, (1,635 total). The team also is third in the scoring margin with 10.2 per game.

With a 42.7 field goal percentage (589-of-1,381), UMass sits in third, while ranking second in combined team rebounds (41.6 rpg), tallying 14.5 offensive rebounds per game (1st; 319 total). They are also third in rebounding margin with 8.9. The team is 22nd in the nation in total rebounds (914) and is 16th in rebound margin (8.9), being one of three A-10 teams in the top-25 of the category (URI - 13th; Dayton - 25th).

Sam Breen currently ranks fifth in the conference in scoring with a 16.5 ppg (364 pts), and is second in rebounds with 10.9 per game, 239 boards total. In the nation, she is 14th in rebounds and tied for 13th with 13 double-doubles this season, while ranking 26th in defensive rebounds per game (7.5; 164 total). Breen also is ranked in field goal attempts (14th; 364), field goals made (T-29th; 149) and rebounds per game (19th; 10.9).

Sydney Taylor sits in eighth in scoring (15.5 ppg, 340 pts) in the A-10 and is fourth with 2.4 three-point FGs per game. In the nation, Taylor is 21st in 3FGs attempted (158).

Angelique Ngalakulondi is 77-for-132 from the field, placing first in the A-10 with a 58.3 percentage. She is also second in total offensive rebounds (82) and in offensive rebounds per game with a 3.7 average. In the nation, Ngalakulondi is 28th in the offensive rpg category. Destiney Philoxy has aided her teammates, averaging 5.4 assists per game (119 total), to sit in first in the league, while tying for 19th 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 13th in career points (1,178), while Philoxy is now 16th in career points (1,140) in program history, passing Keyburn McCusker on the list (1,135; 1987-91).

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 18th on the career points scored list. The graduate student has also collected 716 career rebounds, so far, to place ninth in all-time career records, surpassing Kate Mills (679; 2004-08). Philoxy hit 400-plus career assists on Dec. 11, 2021. She is now etched in fourth in the career records all-time with 460, 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 eight wins away from achieving his 100th victory at the helm of Massachusetts. His current record with the Minutewomen stands at 92-77.

Ngalakulondi's Glass
Angelique Ngalakulondi was absolutely dominant on the offensive glass last season. Overall, the now junior averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, including going off for a career-high 19 points and nine rebounds vs. VCU (3/14/21). 34 of Ngalakulondi's 56 boards came at the offensive end in the 2020-21 season.

Ngalakulondi has averaged 6.2 rebounds per game for the Minutewomen in the 2021-22 season, coming down with a career best 14 at Columbia. The junior is second in the Atlantic 10 with 82 offensive rebounds in total, while ranking 28th in the nation with a 3.7 offensive rpg average.

"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 15 of 19 games played. She tallied a team best 16 points against Central Connecticut State in the season-opener, registered 17 against Harvard, and added 25 points versus Iona, nearly tying her career best of 27. On the road, she has continued to have the hot hand putting up 13 at Holy Cross, 26 over Providence, 23 more vs. South Dakota State, 16 in the win over Kent State, 19 at Columbia and 18 at Hartford. At VCU, the junior finished with a new career-high 32 points that led the way for the Minutewomen, added 16 more at Richmond and 17 more at George Washington.

The Huntington Station, N.Y., native, is eighth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, tallying 340 points (15.5 ppg). She also sits in fourth in three-point field goals per game, averaging 2.4, with 52 recorded (T-2nd in the league). In the nation, Taylor is tied for 21st in 3FGs attempted (158).

Next Up
UMass welcomes George Mason on Friday, February 11, to begin a three-game homestand. Tip off is slated for 12 p.m. on NESN.

Scoreboard