Minutewomen Visit Dayton for Wednesday Night Contest

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts at Dayton
Date \| Time	Jan. 8 \| 7:00 p.m.
Location	UD Arena \| Dayton, Ohio
Twitter	@UMassWBB
Instagram	@umasswbb
Facebook	UMass Women's Basketball

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts women's basketball program (7-7, 2-1 A-10) travels to Dayton, Ohio to take on the Flyers (8-6 2-1 A-10) on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Action will be streamed live on ESPN+, with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter).

The Matchup

Massachusetts and Dayton are set to play in their 32^nd matchup, dating back to the 1995-96 season.
The Minutewomen are 14-17 against the Flyers, with UMass taking the most recent matchup 76-66.

Last Time Out

The Minutewomen snapped a three-game winning streak on Sunday, dropping an 82-52 decision against the defending A-10 Champions: Richmond.
Freshman guard Yahmani McKayle led all scorers with 18 points off the bench for UMass, shooting 7-14 from the field. The Queens, N.Y. native added three rebounds, three assists, and three steals in addition to hitting two threes. 14 of McKayle's 18 came in the second half, going 5-9 in the final 20 minutes of action.
Allie Palmieri also reached double figures in the scoring column, tallying 15 points on the day. The senior guard also found her rhythm in the second half, scoring 13 points on 3-6 shooting from deep.

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 12.5 points, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 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 continue their road trip to St. Bonaventure, N.Y. for a matchup against the Bonnies on Jan. 12. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 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

Stefanie Kulesza

Momo LaClair

Yahmani McKayle

Megan Olbrys

Allie Palmieri

Jess Ross

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics