Massachusetts Women's Hoops Stays Undefeated At Home With 65-64 Victory Over Bowling Green

AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts women's basketball (14-4,6-2 MAC) defeated Bowling Green (10-9, 3-5 MAC), 64-62, during a Saturday morning matchup at Mullins Center.

In a back-and-forth battle that included 20 lead changes and the largest combined lead being just five, stingy defense and key shooting down the stretch proved to be the difference for the Minutewomen. Allie Palmieri led UMass with 20 points, including what proved to be the game winning basket, connecting on a top-of-the-key triple with 1:12 left in the game – a lead Massachusetts never lost. Palmieri added four rebounds and two steals in the effort.

Yahmani McKayle chipped in 16 points, including a half-court heave that found the bottom of the net to conclude the first half. McKayle's heroic shot put UMass up 34-32 at the break. The Queen's, N.Y. native added eight assists, four boards and a pair of triples. Megan Olbrys also netted 16 points of her own, along with seven rebounds and three assists.

The Minutewomen defense made life miserable for the Falcons, forcing Bowling Green into two shot clock violations, both of which came in the third quarter, a five second violation in the fourth, and drew three charges in the contest.

Collectively, UMass tallied 32 rebounds with seven coming on the offensive end, dished out 15 assists and swiped 10 steals. The Minutewomen shot over 50 percent for the third time this season, connecting on 26-of-51 attempts for a .511 percentage. All three 50 percent shooting nights or better have come at home, shooting .516 against UMass Lowell on Nov. 18 and .507 against Seina on Nov. 8.

UMass remains unbeaten at home, being 8-0 for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign when the Minutewomen went a perfect 12-0.

Breaking Down The Action

Allie Palmieri started the scoring for the Minutewomen, faking a defender and pulling up to her right from the free throw line, giving UMass a 2-0 20 seconds into the game.
Following an Ayanna Franks second chance layup, Palmieri consecutive midrange jumpers, to bring her point total to six early and giving Massachusetts an 8-4 lead at 7:04.
After Palmieri's first triple of the day found the bottom of the day at 3:49, Chinenye Odenigbo finished at the rim at 2:59 in her return after a three-game absence.
An Olbrys block on the defensive end turned to instant offense for the Minutewomen, as Yahmani McKayle finished through contact in transition at 1:01 to give UMass a 19-18 lead.
McKayle scored on the ensuing possession with a pull up jumper one step inside the arc with 0:11 left in the quarter, giving UMass a 21-20 lead.
Strong defense once again turned into easy offense, as a Palmieri steal lead to a wide-open McKayle fastbreak layup at 8:14 to put Massachusetts up 25-22.
Jess Ross ended a 6:03 scoreless streak for the Minutewomen with a layup at 2:11, and Megan Olbrys layup on the ensuing possession knotted the game up at 29 with 1:35 left to play in the half.
McKayle's half-court prayer at the second half buzzer was answered, hitting nothing but net to give the Minutewomen a 34-32 lead at the break.
McKayle hit her second triple of the day to open the second half, connecting from a more-reasonable top of the key area to put UMass up 37-32 with 8:13 to play in the third quarter.
Olbrys connected on a pair of free throws to keep the lead, 42-39, with 2:54 to play in the third quarter and finished at the rim a minute of game time later to go up 44-41 with 2:00 left in the penultimate quarter.
Aiyanna Perkins responded to a Falcons triple by putting her head down and finishing at the rim, to keep UMass ahead, 48-47, with 8:57 left in the game.
Palmieri hit nothing but net on a step back triple from the right wing, responding to back-to-back Bowling Green threes to put the Minutewomen back up by one, 51-50, at 9:10.
Palmieri finished around a defender in the air on a mid-range jumper, to bring UMass back ahead, 55-54, with 4:46 left.
McKayle hit Olbrys underneath for an easy finish, and on the next possession Olbrys collected and finished a Palmieri miss to put UMass up 59-57 at 3:56.
Palmieri muscled a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast to give the Minutewomen a two possesion lead to go up 61-57 with 3:29 left in the game.
After a 5-0 Falcons run gave Bowling Green a 62-61 lead, Palmieri sized up her defender and buried a top-of-the-key trey to give the Minutewomen a 64-62 lead with 1:12 to play.
Trailing by three, Bowling Green hit a last-second layup to bring the final to 65-64 in favor of the Minutewomen.

By the Numbers
1: Half court shots made by Yahmani McKayle
3: Minutewomen scored in double figures: Palmieri (20), McKayle (16) and Olbrys (16)
15: UMass dished out 15 assists.
32: The Minutewomen nabbed 32 rebounds.
51: Massachusetts shot 51 percent in the contest.

Up Next

The Minutewomen return on the road for a conference matchup against Ohio on Wednesday, January 28, at 7:00 p.m., on ESPN+, in Athens, Ohio. Links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter).

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