Massachusetts Defeats St. Bonaventure In Regular Season Finale, 58-45

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts women's basketball mounted a 58-45 win over St. Bonaventure in the regular season finale on Wednesday night in the Mullins Center. The Minutewomen were led by Kristin Williams' 21 points on 8-of-16 from the field and 5-of-11 from three-point range. The junior collected four rebounds, additionally.

Junior Stefanie Kulesza moved into a tie for 11th-most in steals in a single season by a Minutewoman with her 59th steal of the season. Williams and Chinenye Odenigbo each had notable nights of their own, with Williams scoring a career-high 21 points and Odenigbo nabbing a career-high four blocks.

The Minutewomen struck first off Odenigbo's jumper, putting UMass on the board at the 8:54 marker. Odenigbo furthered Massachusetts to an 8-2 score at 5:09, with the team holding St. Bonaventure to a 2:35 scoring drought during this stretch. UMass' offensive momentum persisted; amounting a 7-0 run in just 59 seconds after sinking three consecutive attempts from the field. The score read 17-9 heading into the second quarter. Kulesza led the Minutewomen after the first 10 minutes, grabbing six of the squad's nine rebounds.

Kulesza jumpstarted the second quarter action, sinking a layup at 7:56 to lend UMass a 10-point advantage. Odenigbo added to her point-total just 1:18 later, landing a pair of free throws to mark the Bonnies being held scoreless for over three minutes. Soon after, Williams emerged as the team's then leading scorer, sinking her second triple of the night just as the shot clock expired with 6:32 remaining. Alexsia Rose built a run of her own, splashing two back-to-back jumpers which brought UMass to a 28-15 lead at the 4:38 media timeout. St. Bonaventure built an 8-0 run over the concluding four minutes, to which Rose snapped with just three seconds remaining. The score read 30-21 heading into the second half.

After a scoreless three minutes, The Bonnies got on the board first to be within six points of Massachusetts. The closely contested play persisted, with only one basket scored leading into the 4:54 media timeout. Lilly Ferguson kickstarted the Minutewomen's momentum soon after, adding a layup off Odenigbo's assist at 4:43. Williams lit a 6-0 run of her own, hitting two shots from beyond the arc to advance the UMass lead to 38-27 with 3:30 left in the third quarter. UMass' success from three-point range persisted with Williams adding a career-high fifth three-pointer at 2:22; making it a 41-34 game entering the final ten minutes of play.

St. Bonaventure scored first to start the fourth quarter, before Kulesza added a layup to make the score 43-39 with 7:03 remaining. The teams traded baskets until the Minutewomen built a game-high 10-0 run over 3:55, keyed by Rose. During this stretch, Williams reached a career-high single game point total, with her fast-break layup at 3:03 bringing her to 21 points. UMass continued their offense, posting another five points to continue to hold the Bonnies without a field goal for a staggering 6:41. The Minutewomen's push ultimately proved too strong, the final buzzer sounding to a 58-45 victory.

The 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship will be held March 6-10 in Henrico, Va. at the new, 3,500-seat Henrico Sports & Events Center. The tournament begins with first round action on Wednesday, March 6 with three games followed by four games on Thursday and Friday.

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