Women's Basketball Opens Conference Play vs. Fordham

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts vs. Fordham
Date \| Time	Dec. 29 \| 1:00 p.m. ET
Location	Mullins Center \| Amherst, Mass.
Twitter	@UMassWBB
Instagram	@umasswbb
Facebook	UMass Women's Basketball

AMHERST, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts women's basketball program (5-6, 0-0 A-10) is set to open Atlantic 10 conference play against Fordham (6-5, 0-0 A-10) on Sunday Dec. 29 at the Mullins Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m, action will be broadcasted live on NESN, with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter).

THE MATCHUP

The Minutewomen face off against the Rams for the 51st time in program history, dating back to 1980.
UMass is 27-23 in the series history against Fordham, winning six of the last 10 matchups.
Massachusetts is 16-7 at the Mullins Center against Fordham, with the Minutewomen taking an 80-79 victory last time at home in 2022-23

LAST TIME OUT

The Minutewomen wrapped up non-conference play in dominating fashion, besting UMass Lowell in the latest edition of Kennedy Cup action on Friday afternoon. Massachusetts refused to concede a single quarter, out-scoring the Riverhawks 18-4 in the final quarter to close out the 53-33 victory on the road.
Megan Olbrys led UMass with 15 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, adding four assists, two steals, and one block.
Chinenye Odenigbo converted on five of her six attempts from the field, scoring 10 points and grabbing three rebounds.

MANI IS MONEY

Freshman point guard Yahmani McKayle had a career-high 21 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals in UMass's first win of the season on Nov. 10 vs. CCSU
The Queens, N.Y. native followed up with 17 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds in to help UMass secure a 76-53 win over Monmouth
McKayle is averaging 12.7 points and 2.9 assists per game on the season, earning A-10 rookie of the week on December 9th.

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 hit the road to take on Saint Louis University on Jan. 2. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. in Saint Louis, Mo.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

Kasey Bretones

Taylor Derkack

Stefanie Kulesza

Momo LaClair

Yahmani McKayle

Chinenye Odenigbo

Megan Olbrys

Allie Palmieri

Jess Ross

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics