Women’s Hoops Opens A-10 Play On Saturday At VCU

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 13	Massachusetts (2-10 Overall, 0-0 Atlantic 10) at VCU (11-1 Overall, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Date // Time	Saturday, December 30 // 4:30 p.m.
Location	Richmond, Va. / Siegel Center
Watch	ESPN+
Live Statistics	Live Stats
Game Notes	Massachusetts
Social Media	Facebook: UMass Women's Basketball Twitter: @UMassWBB Instagram: @UMassWBB

AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts women's basketball team begins its 18-game league schedule with a Saturday afternoon matchup at VCU. The Minutewomen and Rams open Atlantic 10 play from the Siegel Center at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

Last Time Out
Kristin Williams scored a team-leading 14 points as the Minutewomen were defeated by UAlbany in the final non-conference game of the season on Dec. 20 in the Mullins Center. Lilly Taulelei added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting while Stefanie Kulesza hauled in nine rebounds in the loss.

Series History
Saturday's league opener marks the 16th all-time meeting between the Minutewomen and the Rams dating back to the first matchup during the 1994-95 season. VCU leads the all-time series with a 9-6 record while the Minutewomen took last season's meeting in the Mullins Center by a score of 83-57.

A-10 Openers
UMass has won its last five Atlantic 10 opening games dating back to the 2017-18 season. The Minutewomen are 2-0 in road league openers during the span, including a 72-60 win over VCU in UMass' first conference game of the 2021-22 season. UMass won last season's A-10 opener over St. Bonaventure at home by a score of 74-51.

Crashing The Boards
Stefanie Kulesza leads the Minutewomen in rebounds per game at 8.7 and ranks among the top-70 nationally in both total rebounds and rebounds per game. Kulesza's 104 total rebounds ranks 54-most nationally and third in the A-10 while her rebounds per game ranks 68th among DI leaders and third among A-10 players. The junior has posted double-digit rebounding games in five contests, including a career-best of 14 against both Saint Peter's and UMass Lowell.

Finding Her Groove
Freshman forward Lilly Taulelei is shooting 74-percent from the field over her last five games and is averaging 11 points per game during the span. Taulelei opened the five-game stretch with a career-best 14 points against Maryland and followed with back-to-back double figure scoring games on her way to being named the A-10 Rookie of the Week. Taulelei earned herself a spot in the starting lineup for the last two contests heading into league play.

Looking Ahead
The Minutewomen continue Atlantic 10 action with the league home opener on Tuesday, Jan. 2 against Dayton at 5 p.m. in the Mullins Center. UMass follows with a rematch of last year's A-10 Tournament championship game against Saint Louis on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 1 p.m. Two road games at Richmond and La Salle follow the two-game homestand.

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Players Mentioned

Stefanie Kulesza

Lilly Taulelei

Kristin Williams

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University of Massachusets Athletics