Massachusetts Women's Basketball Secures 73-55 Senior Day Victory

AMHERST, Mass. – Massachusetts women's basketball (23-6, 15-3 MAC) defeated Buffalo (3-27, 1-17), 73-55, on a Saturday afternoon tilt at Mullins Center. An 8-0 run to open the game and 22-8 advantage in the second quarter propelled the Minutewomen to a Senior Day victory.

Seniors Allie Palmieri and Megan Olbrys powered the offensive unit for the Minutewomen, combining for 36 points. Palmieri led UMass with 19 points, four three-pointers and five rebounds, with Olbrys recording 17 points, five boards and tying her career-high with five steals.

Yahmani McKayle chipped in 15 points, with 13 coming in the second half, and swiping a career-high seven steals.

Defensivly, the Minutewomen pestered the Bulls the whole game, forcing a season-high 23 turnovers and securing 17 steals. UMass held Buffalo to just 36.5 percent shooting in the contest, marking the 15th time this season UMass has held an opponent under 40 percent in a game.

Breaking Down the Action:

Prior to the game, seniors Lilly Ferguson, Megan Olbrys and Allie Palmieri were honored, with each being named starters for the game.
Seniors Olbrys and Ferguson netted the first points of the game with consecutive layups at 9:48 and 8:50 to make the score 4-0.
The run reached 8-0 with baskets from Palmieri and Ferguson at 8:08.
Palmieri buried a right-wing triple at 5:30 to extend the UMass lead to 13-8.
Buffalo orchestrated a 10-4 run to take the lead, 18-17 with 1:09 remaining in the opening quarter.
Palmieri hit a three to open the second quarter to take lead back, 20-18.
Palmieri hit her third three of the first half, extending the Massachusetts lead to 25-18 at 8:13 in the second.
Aiyanna Perkins finished through contact at 5:34 to keep the Minutewomen ahead 29-23.
Yahmani McKayle went the length of the court and hit a high arcing layup at 3:34 to give the Minutewomen a 10 point lead, 33-23.
UMass ended the first half with consecutive baskets to enter the break with a 39-26 lead.
A pair of Ferguson free throws and a putback layup by Olbrys opened the second half for UMass, extending the advantage to 43-26 with 8:52 left in the third.
Ferguson collected an offensive rebound, with the ball finding its way back to Olbrys for an easy second-chance layup putting UMass ahead 46-28 at 7:20.
Buffalo responded with an 11-6 run to cut into the UMass lead, bringing the score to 52-40 in favor of the Minutewomen at 2:42.
McKayle connected on a triple at 1:38 from the left wing to put the Minutewomen up 15, 57-42, at 1:38.
McKayle snuck a floated at the end of the third quarter, bringing her total to 15 points and increasing the UMass lead to 61-44 heading into the final quarter.
Palmieri hit her fourth three of the game with 8:40 remaining in the game to put Massachusetts ahead by 20, 64-44.

By The Numbers:

7: Steals recorded by Yahmani McKayle
18: Assists dished out by the Minutewomen
23: Turnovers forced by UMass
50: UMass points scored in the paint.

UP NEXT

The Minutewomen travel to Cleveland, Ohio for the first round of the MAC Championships, starting on Wednesday, March 11.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassWBB on X (Twitter)

Scoreboard