Women's Basketball Hits The Road For Thursday Night Showdown At Rhode Island

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 26	Massachusetts (21-4, 11-1 A-10) at Rhode Island (21-3, 12-0 A-10)
Date // Time	Thursday, Feb. 16 // 6 p.m.
Location	Kingston, R.I. // Thomas M. Ryan Center
Watch	ESPN+
Stream	ESPN+
Live Statistics	LiveStats
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Rhode Island
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.

Last Time Out
UMass heads into Thursday's contest with a 21-4 overall record, including 11-1 in the A-10, after earning its 10th straight with a 78-57 road win over George Mason on Sunday.

Sam Breen and Sydney Taylor led with 21 points, while Breen grabbed 14 boards for her 14th double-double on the year. Ber'Nyah Mayo also put up double figures with 18 points in a dominant team effort.

At 11-1, UMass is in second place in the A-10 standings, trailing 12-0 Rhode Island, prior to the matchup between both teams.

All-Time Series vs. Rhode Island
The Minutewomen and the Rams will meet for the 90th time in program history, as UMass holds the advantage in the all-time series, 49-39, including the record on the road at 22-19. The two programs first met on March 7, 1974, with a Massachusetts 61-53 victory on the day. The last meeting occurred at the Mullins Center earlier this season, with Rhode Island defeating UMass, 75-68.

Seeing Double (And Triple) Double

Sam Breen - 54 Double-Doubles* | 1 Triple-Double (* total includes at Penn State)

2022-23: 14 | 1 (Triple-Double)
2021-22: 17
2020-21: 15
2019-20: 8

Angelique Ngalakulondi - 8

2022-23: 3
2021-22: 5

Destiney Philoxy - 4

2022-23: 1
2021-22: 2
2020-21: 1

Makennah White - 4

2022-23: 2
2021-22: 1
2020-21: 1

Ber'Nyah Mayo - 2

2021-22: 2

Laila Fair - 1

2021-22: 1* (* at Saint Joseph's)

Sydney Taylor - 1

2022-23: 1

Statistically Speaking
The Minutewomen currently sit in first the Atlantic 10 conference in scoring offensively, averaging 75.6 points per game (1,889 pts). The team is second with a 13.3 scoring margin. The team ranks 37th in the nation with its scoring offense.

UMass ranks third in combined team rebounds (40.4 rpg), tallying 13.5 offensive rebounds per game (T-4th; 338 total). The Minutewomen are second with a 5.4 rebounding margin.

Sam Breen is third in the conference in scoring with 17.6 ppg (440 pts), and ranks first in rebounds with 10.1 per game (253 total). In the nation, she is tied for 15th in rebounds and tied for ninth with 14 double-doubles this season. She is also tied for third with one triple-double.

Sydney Taylor sits sixth in scoring (16.6 ppg, 398 pts) in the A-10 and is first with 3.2 3FGs per game. Taylor is fourth in the nation with her 3FGs per game and sixth with her three-pointers made (77 total).

Angelique Ngalakulondi averaged 3.1 offensive rebounds per game (74 total), so far, this season, to sit tied for fifth in the A-10. Ber'Nyah Mayo sits in third in the league with 2.8 steals per game (70 total). Mayo is 20th in the nation with her swipes per game and 16th in total steals.

Destiney Philoxy continues to aid her teammates, dishing out 121 dimes, averaging 4.8 assists per game, placing fourth, currently, in the league. Philoxy tied for 33rd in the nation with her total assists, while sitting tied for 42nd with her average.

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 third in career points (1,825), passing Octavia Thomas (1,791; 1992-96), while Philoxy is now seventh in career points (1,499) in program history, passing Barbara Hebel on the list (1,498; 1982-86). Sydney Taylor became the 23rd Minutewomen to join the 1,000-point club after garnering her 1,000th career point on Nov. 22, 2022. She currently sits 13th on the list with 1,331 points, passing Jasmine Watson (1,291; 2009-13).

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 be in fourth on the career points scored list (1,781). The graduate student has also collected 1,062 total career rebounds, so far, to place second in all-time career records, passing Rashida Timbilla (1020; 2012-16) on the list. She collected her 1,000th career board at Dayton (1/22/23). With the Minutewomen, Breen has totaled 991 boards, good enough for third on the list. Philoxy hit 400-plus career assists on Dec. 11, 2021 and 500-plus career assists on Feb. 26, 2022. She is in the career records all-time with 649, claiming the top spot in the category, passing Sabriya Mitchell (578; 1994-98). She is only the fourth Minutewomen to achieve 500-plus dimes, along with Mitchell, Christel Zullo (1985-89) and Kathy Coyner (1997-01), and the only player in program history to reach 600-plus dimes. Philoxy also played in her 100th career game on Jan. 22, 2022 at George Washington, while Breen reached her 100th career game played in the A-10 Quarterfinals vs. Fordham (March 4, 2022).

Philoxy has also put her name on the career games played list, playing 139 contests, so far, passing Hailey Leidel (123; 2016-20) and on the career steals list, ranking third with 201, passing Rashida Timbilla (198; 2012-16), so far, in her career, while fellow teammate Ber'Nyah Mayo is tied with Timbilla for fourth in career steals. Sam Breen etched her name on the career steals list in the record book, ranking ninth with 179.

Head Coach Tory Verdi achieved his 100th victory at the helm of Massachusetts in the 76-58 win over Saint Joseph's in the A-10 Semifinals on March 5. At Massachusetts, Verdi coached his 200th game vs. VCU (1/26). His current record with the Minutewomen stands at 122-83.

MinuteWWWWWWWWWWWomen
UMass made program history on Jan. 15, 2020 as the squad knocked off La Salle for its 11th consecutive victory, continuing past the previous record of nine-straight, last taking place in 1997-98.

The Minutewomen are currently holding the second-longest win streak in program history with 10 consecutive wins. The streak began on Jan. 7 with a road win over Loyola Chicago. All 10 straight victories have come in Atlantic 10 Conference play, beign the first time the team has had as many straight wins in league competition.

The 11-game winning streak from Nov. 29, 2019-Jan. 19, 2020 was the longest by any team led by head coach Tory Verdi and second-longest by a team with Verdi on staff. Back in 2009-10, Verdi was an assistant on the Nebraska squad that started the season 30-0 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.

Up Next
Massachusetts will return to the Mullins Center for a Sunday matinee against Davidson on February 19, at 12 p.m. on NESN/ESPN+. The Minutewomen will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day, while inviting alumnae to join for its Flagship 50 celebration.

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