University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
3-11,1-1Atlantic 10
Dayton
6-8,0-3Atlantic 10
UMass Downs Dayton For First Atlantic 10 Win, 76-66
January 02, 2024 | Women's Basketball
A trio of double-digit scorers led the UMass offense.
AMHERST, Mass.?–?The University of Massachusetts women's basketball team picked up its first win of 2024 with a 76-66 win over Dayton on Tuesday night in the Mullins Center. The Minutewomen earned their first Atlantic 10 win and will continue conference play on Saturday as they welcome Saint Louis to the Mullins Center for a 1 p.m. tip.
Kristin Williams led all the Minutewomen with 15 points, all coming in the second half, while Lilly Taulelei tied her career high of 14 points and Stefanie Kulesza finished with 13. Alexsia Rose tied a season high with eight points in her fourth game back from injury. Lilly Ferguson and Tori Hyduke both came off the bench and scored seven each for UMass in the win.
Kulesza scored the first seven points for the Minutewomen including a three pointer to give UMass a 7-6 advantage at the 5:21 mark. The UMass defense started strong, holding Dayton to zero field goals in the first 3:07 while forcing three turnovers in the first frame. Tori Hyduke scored the last five points for UMass as they trailed 16-13 after the first ten minutes.
Coming out for the second quarter, Taulelei scored her first basket of the game to bring UMass within one at 9:24. After going down by six, the Minutewomen would go on a 7-0 run kick started by a Dallas Pierce three. Kulesza would dish out assists to Taulelei and Rose while picking up a steal to cap the run and tie the game at 26 a piece with 3:44 left in the half. With the first half winding down, Rose caused a turnover and Hyduke found Lilly Ferguson on a fast break who beat the buzzer and tie the game at 32-32.
The Minutewomen came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders as they jumped out to 42-35 lead in the first two minutes thanks to a pair of Kulesza buckets and three pointers by Rose and Williams. Taulelei scored back-to-back baskets at 2:56 and 2:21 to get her fourth double digit performance in the last seven games. KWilliams hit another three to put UMass on top at 55-52 with 31 seconds left in the quarter as she finished with eight points in the frame.
UMass used a 9-0 run to start the quarter and cruised to the final buzzer. The run started with a Kulesza put back at 8:51 while the Minutewomen held Dayton without a field goal for the first 6:01. In the final frame, Williams led all scorers with seven. UMass finished the game shooting 48% on 26-54. UMass turned the Flyers over 10 times while assisting on 22 baskets.
