Women's Basketball Secures 58-52 Win Over Old Dominion In MAC-SBC Challenge

AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts women's basketball (1-0, 0-0 MAC) earned a 58-52 win over Old Dominion University (0-1, 0-0 SBC) on Monday night at Chartway Arena. The Minutewomen gained the advantage early in the first and did not let up for the rest of the contest, leading by as many as 18 points throughout the game.

Sophomore guard Yahmani McKayle led the way for the Minutewomen, putting up 14 points against the Monarchs, while adding four assists and five rebounds on the night.

Fellow sophomroe guard Ayanna Franks had a standout night, as well, tallying a career-high eight rebounds in the contest to go along with nine points and four assists.

Breaking Down The Action

Allie Palmieri gained UMass' first possession with a defensive rebound 27 seconds into the contest
Palmieri started off the scoring for UMass at the top of the three-point line at 7:21
The Minutewomen went on a 14-0 run to start the first half
Mckayle scored her first points of the season with a jumper at 6:22 in the first quarter
Chinenye Odenigbo gave UMass the first lead of the game with a layup at 5:44 in the first
A three-pointer by Lilly Ferguson put UMasss up 12-5 with 3:22 left on the quarter
Megan Olbrys extended the lead to 14-5 with a layup at 1:40 in the first
Aiyanna Perkins finished the scoring with a layup with 40 seconds left in the quarter
UMass maintained the lead throughout the first quarter, ending with an 18-9 lead.
McKayle continued to up the ante with a three-point jumper 50 seconds into the second
An Old Dominion personal foul at 5:32 caused UMass to convert with a free throw by Ayanna Franks
Ferguson made a jumper at 2:41 to put UMass at a 27-15 advantage
Alisha Nunley scored a jumper, putting ODU up to 19 with 1:23 left in the half
UMass continued to control the game ending the first half 27-19
Ferguson capitalized off a personal foul from ODU's Riley Stack, making two free throws 2:46 into the second half
UMass went on a 12-point run with McKayle, Perkins, Palmieri, and Olbrys contributing to the point total within four minutes
UMass finished the third quarter 42-30
After a slow start for the Minutewomen, Odenigbo made a layup off opponent turnover at 6:38 in the final quarter
Odenigbo continued to command the UMass scoring with a free throw 40 seconds later
Odenigbo continued the effort with another layup at 4:24 left in the final quarter
ODU crept up on UMass scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter
Franks knocked down two free throws on a personal foul from ODU
McKayle put the lead up 50-46 with 2:45 left in the play
Palmieri made another three-point jumper to give UMass a 55-48 lead
Olbrys scored a layup adding up to a seven-point lead for the Minutewomen
With 15.4 seconds left on the clock ODU called for a timeout
Franks made a pair of free throws, ending the game with a 58-52 UMass victory

By The Numbers

8: Ayanna Franks tallied a career-high eight rebounds
12: Megan Olbrys ended the game with the highest plus/minus among the Minutewomen with 12
14: Yahmani McKayle led the Minutewomen with 14 points
18: The Minutewomen's largest lead of the night came in the third quarter, as UMass led by 18 points at 40-22
39: McKayle recorded the greatest number of minutes on the floor in the matchup

Up Next

The Minutewomen face off in home opener at the Mullins Center against Siena November 8, 2025. Tip-off is scheduled to be at 2 p.m.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard