Minutewomen Open Month of December at Siena

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts at Siena
Date \| Time	Dec. 1 \| 2:00 p.m. ET
Location	Loudonville, N.Y.
Twitter	@UMassWBB
Instagram	@umasswbb
Facebook	UMass Women's Basketball

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts women's basketball program (2-4, 0-0 A-10) hits the road for a matchup against Siena (1-4, 0-0 MAAC) on Sunday, Dec. 1 in Loudonville, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m, action will be streamed live on ESPN+. Links and live updates will be available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter).

THE MATCHUP

Massachusetts and Siena are playing in their seventh matchup, with the Minutewomen taking the most recent contest 61-55 on Dec. 15, 2019.
UMass holds a 4-2 record All-Time against Siena, dating back to the 2004-05 season.

LAST TIME OUT

The Minutewomen fell to Army in a narrow 56-50 defeat.
Allie Palmieri led the team with a career-best 21 points, knocking down four-of-eight from beyond the arc, including the opening three for the Minutewomen.
Lilly Ferguson crashed the boards hard, coming down with a career-high 13 rebounds.
Yahmani McKayle and Megan Olbrys combined for 18 points on the day. Olbrys grabbed seven rebounds and McKayle added a block and a steal.

NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES

The Minutewomen welcome seven newcomers, three of which enter as transfers.
Massachusetts brings freshmen Taylor Derkack (Colonia, N.J.), Yahmani McKayle (Queens, N.Y.), Kasey Bretones (Linwood, N.J.), and Jess Ross (Eastham, Mass.) into the mix for the 2024-25 season.
Lipscomb transfer Aleah Sorrentino arrives to Amherst off a 12.3 points per game season, adding 6.4 rebounds in 26.8 minutes. The redshirt senior spent a year at Ole Miss prior to her two-year stint at Lipscomb.
Megan Olbrys spent her last two seasons at Villanova, averaging 1.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.2 minutes of action.
Drexel transfer Momo LaClair is coming off a 2024 CAA Championship run as a key member of the rotation. LaClair played 17.8 minutes a game, adding 3.2 points and 1.5 assists per game.

KULESZA ON THE RISE

Senior Stefanie Kulesza is coming off one of the most-improved seasons in the Atlantic 10 last year, averaging career-bests in points (11.2), rebounds (7.1), field goal percentage (46.9), and minutes per game (31.4).
Kulesza posted six double-doubles during the 2023-24 campaign, including a career-high game against No. 23 Washington State (20pts, 11reb).
The Wilmington, Del. native led the Minutewomen in total field goals made, rebounds, steals, blocks, and minutes during the 2023-24 campaign. Kulesza also ranked second on the team in total points and three pointers made.

SET FOR SUCCESS

Allie Palmieri and Chinenye Odenigbo are primed to have a strong 2024-25 campaign for the Minutewomen.
Palmieri redshirted in the 2023-24 campaign after a season at Seton Hall and two years at Boston College.
Odenigbo put together 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in her freshman season, missing nine games due to injury.
With the guard-post duo fully healthy and eligible to play, the Maroon and White look for them to be large contributors.

YEAR TWO UNDER COACH LEFLAR

Massachusetts women's basketball enters its second season under Head Coach Mike Leflar in 2024-25 after his tenure as Associate Head Coach (2021-23) and Assistant Coach (2018-21) with the Minutewomen
Leflar has been an integral part of building the most successful era in Massachusetts women's basketball, helping the program to its first regular-season Atlantic 10 championship this past season after the program earned its first Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship in 2021-22, while adding an NCAA Tournament berth in 2022 to go along with WNIT appearances in 2021 and 2023
Leflar most recently worked closely with the Minutewomen forwards, including 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year, Sam Breen. Under Leflar's guidance, Breen developed into one of the most decorated players in program history and earned back-to-back Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors in 2022 and 2023

UP NEXT

The Minutewomen are back at the Mullins Center to host Northeastern in their next game on Thursday, Dec. 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kasey Bretones

Taylor Derkack

Lilly Ferguson

Stefanie Kulesza

Momo LaClair

Yahmani McKayle

Chinenye Odenigbo

Megan Olbrys

Allie Palmieri

Jess Ross

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics