Minutewomen Set for Saturday Clash Against Saint Joseph's

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts vs. Saint Joseph's
Date \| Time	Jan. 18 \| 12:00 p.m.
Location	Mullins Center \| Amherst, Mass.
Twitter	@UMassWBB
Instagram	@umasswbb
Facebook	UMass Women's Basketball

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts women's basketball program (9-8, 4-2 A-10) hosts Saint Joseph's (13-4, 4-2 A-10) on Saturday at the Mullins Center for Field Trip Day. Tip-off is scheduled for noon with action streaming live on ESPN+ in addition to links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter).

The Matchup

Massachusetts and the Hawks are set to play in their 25^th matchup, dating back to the 2004-05 season.
The Minutewomen are 10-12 against Saint Joseph's with the Minutewomen dropping the most recent contest 77-67 on the road.

Last Time Out

The Minutewomen cruised past La Salle University 82-66, at the Mullins Center on Wednesday's Field Trip Day
Scoring a season-high 82 points, the Minutewomen were led by a career-high 22 points from Megan Olbrys. Olbrys connected on seven of her eight shots, including 8-10 from the free throw line, to go along with nine rebounds and four assists to lead the UMass offensive unit.
Senior forward Stefanie Kulesza added 19 points and nine boards of her own, also shooting a very efficient 8-12 from the field, including hitting half of her three-point attempts.
Yahmani McKayle did a bit of everything on the day, as the guard chipped in 12 points of her own and dished out a team-high five assists to pair along five rebounds and three steals.

Want Some Fries With That 30-Piece?

Senior guard Allie Palmieri tallied a career-high 31 points against Fordham in her Atlantic 10 debut.
This was the third-highest single-game scoring total by a Minutewoman in the last 11 years.
Palmieri shot an efficient 9-17 from the field, netting 6-10 of her attempts from range.
The Trumbull, Conn. native added three steals on the defensive end, another career-best on the day.

Double-Double Duo

Senior forward Stefanie Kulesa and transfer forward Megan Olbrys became the first UMass pair since Feb. 4, 2023 to each record double-doubles in the same game as the Minutewomen took a 72-55 victory against Saint Louis last Thursday.
Kulesza set a career-high in scoring with 21 points and added 12 rebounds.
Olbrys tallied 18 points and 11 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 12.9 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.0 steals 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.

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 travel to Kingston, R.I. to take on URI on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Tipoff is scheduled of 6:35 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

Stefanie Kulesza

Momo LaClair

Yahmani McKayle

Megan Olbrys

Allie Palmieri

Jess Ross

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics