Massachusetts Welcomes Davidson to Mullins on Saturday

University of Massachusetts Women's Basketball Notes & Information
Matchup	Massachusetts vs. Davidson
Date \| Time	Feb. 8 \| 1:00 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 (13-10, 8-4 A-10) is set for a matchup with Davidson (12-11, 7-4 A-10) for their 2025 National Girls and Women In Sports Day Game on Saturday, Feb. 8 in Amherst, Mass. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 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 Davidson are set to play in their fifteenth matchup, which dates back to a 60-49 win in favor of the Minutewomen from the 2014-15 season.
Massachusetts holds the 9-5 record against the Wildcats, as well as a 5-2 home record. The last three meetings in Amherst have been dominant Minutewomen victories, all with 15+ point differences.
The last matchup between these two teams saw a tough 72-42 loss for the Minutewomen in Davidson, North Carolina. Massachusetts will look to bounce back against the Wildcats and use their home-court advantage to get back into the win column against them.

Last Time Out

The Minutewomen secured a dominant 81-54 win over St. Bonaventure. Freshman guard Yahmani McKayle led the Minutewomen with 21 points, tying her season-high point total.
Junior forward Megan Olbrys and Senior guard Allie Palmieri also tallied double digit points on the night. Additionally, nearly every Minutewomen who saw game action contributed to the point total, while 31 of the total Massachusetts points came from the bench.
The Minutewomen surged in the second half, dominating the play with a 15-0 run in the third quarter after the Bonnies had tied the game at 4:19.

Meg Doesn't Miss

Junior forward Megan Olbrys shot 89.5% from the field (17-19 FG) last week, earning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for the first time in her career.
The Norwood, Mass. native averaged 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2 blocks on the week against the likes of La Salle and Saint Joseph's.

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 13.0 points, 3.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game on the season, earning A-10 rookie of the week on December 9th.

New Faced 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.

Up Next

The Minutewomen will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to play Duquesne in their next game on Wednesay, Feb. 12. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

Kasey Bretones

Taylor Derkack

Momo LaClair

Yahmani McKayle

Megan Olbrys

Allie Palmieri

Jess Ross

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics