Nov. 18, 2012

Box Score

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - UMass women's basketball fell to the No. 7 nationally ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday afternoon, 94-50 in South Bend, Ind. The Minutewomen were led by senior center Jasmine Watson, sophomore forward Kim Pierre-Louis, sophomore forward Aisha Rodney and freshman forward Rashida Timbilla, with each scoring eight points at Purcell Pavilion.

Watson added eight rebounds while Pierre-Louis notched three steals. Sophomore guard Emily Mital added a pair of second half three-pointers to record six points in her return after a one-game absence due to injury while tallying two assists and a pair of boards.

Senior guard Dee Montgomery opened scoring for the Minutewomen on a three-pointer with 19:20 remaining in the first to give UMass a 3-2 lead; however, No. 7 Notre Dame hit 21-of-35 field goals and 9-of-10 free throws during the first half to take a 53-19 lead into the break. Rodney led UMass with six points on 3-for-4 shooting during the opening stanza, while Montgomery converted a pair of field goal attempts to tally five points.

The Minutewomen shot 40.9 percent from the floor against a stout Notre Dame defense, finishing the contest strong with a 9-for-20 second half field goal output (45.0 FG %).

Pierre-Louis paced UMass over the final half, recording each of her eight points during the stanza. The forward from Ottawa, Ontario, also produced four rebounds, a steal and a block during the last 20 minutes of game action.

Pierre-Louis' first field goal came with 10:30 remaining to be played before the sophomore drew a foul and converted the resulting free throws to make it 78-40 Notre Dame with 6:59 left. Pierre-Louis added a jumper on the ensuing UMass possession and capped her scoring performance on a pair of free throws with 48 seconds to play.

Notre Dame earned advantages in points in the paint, 50-20; off turnovers, 49-15 and second-chance points, 21-6. The Irish were led by 18 points from Kayla McBride while Skylar Diggins (15), Jewell Loyd (13) and Michaela Mabry (10) also reached double-figures in scoring.

The Minutewomen return to Amherst, Mass., to host Hartford (4-0) with their next contest, scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Mullins Center. Tickets for all home UMass women's basketball games are available through the ticket office at 866-UMASS-Tix.