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Minutewomen Set To Clash With Temple At Home
Feb. 1, 2013
The Last Meeting
February 11, 2012
Philadelphia, Pa.
UMass Women's Basketball: Coming To A TV Near You! Upcoming Promotion: National Girls And Women In Sport Day Scouting Temple Women's Basketball Victoria Macaulay leads all Owls with 14.6 points per game on 115-for-241 shooting from the field (47.7 percent) to go with 61 makes from the foul line in 95 tries (64.2 percent). Macaulay also leads Temple in rebounding, with 9.3 boards per game, while Rateska Brown also scores in double-digits at a 10.3 clip per contest. Tonya Williams follows at 9.7 points in each game while tallying a team-best 101 assists for an average of 5.0 per contest. Temple is being outscored by a slim margin though 20 games, 58.0-to-56.5 despite owning a better field goal percentage (37.8-to-35.8) and three-point conversion rate (30.6-to-23.9). The Owls also lead the opposition in rebounding, 40.7-to-36.5 while recording more assists, 276-241; however, foes have tallied less turnovers, 407-302 and more steals, 213-155. Last Time Against The Owls UMass (6-19, 1-9 A-10) shot 38 percent from the floor and was 13-for-18 from the foul line. Temple (16-8, 9-1 A-10) shot 45 percent and added seven 3-pointers in winning its ninth-consecutive game. Jasmine Watson led the Minutewomen with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, six rebounds and three blocks. Shakia Robinson finished with 10 points and four boards. Temple used a 9-0 run to pull away from UMass midway through the first half and lead 21-9. Watson made a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 27-20 with 6:04 to play, but the Owls pushed the lead back into double digits with a 9-2 run, 36-22 with 3:00 left. Temple closed the half on a 12-3 run for a 42-25 lead. In the second half, UMass got solid production from its bench, including Kim Pierre-Louis who made the most of her eight minutes, tallying six points and four rebounds. Ronni Grandison also put her name in the scoring column when she knocked down a pair of free throws for her first career points as a Minutewoman. Last Time Out: UMass Falls To La Salle, 68-57 On Field Trip Day Sophomore guard Emily Mital and freshman guard Jasmine Harris each contributed 11 points while redshirt-junior guard Carolann Cloutier chipped in 10 to go with five assists and three rebounds. Freshman forward Rashida Timbilla pulled down eight boards, including four from the offensive glass, as UMass earned a 43-34 edge in total rebounds. After trading buckets en route to a 7-7 tie with 14:39 remaining in the first, the Explorers (7-13 overall, 3-2 Atlantic 10) used a 10-3 run to take a seven-point advantage three minutes later. However, down 17-10, UMass (3-18, 1-5) responded with a pair of quick buckets, including Cloutier's second three-pointer of the game, to pull within 17-15 and force a La Salle timeout with 10:15 left. Neither side was able to create a lead larger than five over the remainder of the opening stanza, with the Explorers taking a 27-23 advantage into the break. Ebonee Jones knocked down a pair of foul shots to stake the Explorers to a 24-19 lead with 3:50 to play; however, Harris answered with a set of free throws for the Minutewomen before Timbilla converted a layup to drop the deficit to 24-23 at the 2:52 mark. Jones made one more free throw and Brittany Wilson added a jumper to reach the halftime score. Exiting the break, strong interior play on both ends of the court led UMass to tie the contest at 27-27 less than one minute into the half. Mital drove to the right baseline and drew a foul, converting the resulting free throws to pull the Minutewomen within 27-25. After stout defense led to a La Salle turnover near midcourt, redshirt-junior forward Kiara Bomben recovered the loose ball and netted a bucket at the rim for the tie game. After two more defensive stops, Watson gave UMass a 29-27 lead with a layup at the 18:08 mark. The Minutewomen continued to play well on both ends of the floor, resulting in a lead as large as eight during the final stanza. Ahead, 32-31 with 14:36 remaining, UMass tallied an 11-4 run to earn a 43-35 lead only two minutes and 43 seconds later. Watson and Bomben each converted a pair of foul shots to go up, 36-31 before Timbilla added a layup and Cloutier knocked down one of her four made field goals. After Wilson hit two of her 14 free throws, Mital answered with a trey at the other end to mark the eight-point lead. However, La Salle rallied with an 11-2 run to go ahead for good, 46-45 with 7:55 to play and converted free throws down the stretch to hold the lead and earn the 68-57 outcome. UMass finished 19-for-56 from the field (33.9 percent) and hit 5-of-15 three-pointers (33.3 percent). La Salle answered with a 37.7 field goal percentage (23-of-61) while the Minutewomen three-point defense limited the Explorers to a 3-for-14 day from behind the arc (21.4 percent). UMass went 14-for-17 from the free throw line (82.4 percent) while La Salle knocked down 19-of-24 foul shots, including a 14-for-14 performance from Wilson. Wilson led the Explorers with 30 points while Shanel Harrison added 15 and Jones scored 12. Defense Leads UMass To 62-58 Victory Over George Washington Freshman forward Rashida Timbilla tallied a game-best 11 rebounds while totaling eight points and tying a career-high with five steals. Freshman guard Nola Henry finished 3-for-4 from the floor for seven points, also dishing out four assists and earning two steals. Rodney finished 5-for-5 from the field and pulled down five boards. Watson secured eight boards, leading all players with five off the offensive glass. After George Washington (6-9 overall, 0-1 A-10) raced to a 7-1 lead 2:10 into the contest, the Minutewomen defense settled in to hold the Colonials to just 14 points over the remaining 17:50 of the opening stanza. During the half, George Washington only hit 7-of-27 attempts from the field (25.9 percent), including finishing just 1-for-4 from behind the arc (25.0 percent). UMass (3-13, 1-0) battled back from its early deficit on the strength of its defense and nine points from Mital and six from Timbilla, who also had five rebounds and a pair of assists in the first. Henry connected on the front end of a pair of foul shots before Mital knocked down her first three-pointer of the game on the ensuing UMass possession to pull the Minutewomen within 7-5 at the 17:03 mark. The sophomore guard from Frisco, Texas, followed her second trey only 40 seconds later to give UMass its first lead of the day, 8-7. After GW tied the contest at 14-14 with 8:34 remaining in the half, UMass finished out the frame with a 14-7 run to hold a 28-21 lead at the half, an advantage the squad would not relinquish the rest of the way. Scoring was balanced across five Minutewomen as UMass doubled the GW output during the final eight and a half minutes. Rodney and Timbilla tallied four each while Mital produced three points on a jumper and free throw, Watson hit a layup and Cloutier connected on one foul shot. The Minutewomen grew their lead as high as 10 in the first half, 27-17 with 3:39 remaining and finished the stanza ahead, 28-21. After Danni Jackson hit 1-of-2 free throw attempts to pull George Washington within 20-17 at the 5:33 mark, UMass went on a 7-0 run to pad the advantage. Timbilla drained a pair of foul shots while Watson followed with a layup and Mital was bumped while converting a shot at the basket, knocking down the ensuing free throw for the 10-point lead. After the Colonials moved to within three of tying again, UMass converted its attempts from the floor during the early minutes of the second half to re-take a double-digit lead, 42-31 with 13:50 left to play. Cloutier spearheaded the Minutewomen offense with back-to-back three-pointers, reaching 10 points on the game in the process. The Minutewomen continued to add to their lead until the final minutes of the contest, pulling ahead by as much as 15 during the second half. Following a Chakecia Miller free throw that dropped the UMass lead to 50-40, Henry fought her way inside the arc and pulled up for a jumper before Watson added a layup and senior guard Dee Montgomery hit a free throw for the 55-40 lead at the 5:09 mark. George Washington chipped away at its deficit until the Minutewomen held only a three-point advantage, 59-56 with 39 seconds to play. However, after letting the shot clock tick down to single-digits, Henry drove to the left of the Colonials' basket into the paint and used the backboard to drain her third shot of the day, putting UMass in front, 61-56 with 13 seconds remaining. Jackson answered with a layup for the Colonials to again pull GW within three of tying, 61-58 with six seconds remaining; however, Cloutier sank a free throw after being fouled on the inbounding play to reach the eventual final score, 62-58 with three seconds remaining. Montgomery intercepted a long George Washington entry pass near midcourt to seal the win for UMass. The Minutewomen finished 23-for-52 from the floor (44.2 percent), hit 4-of-16 three-pointers (25.0 percent) and went 12-for-20 from the free throw line. On the other end of the court UMass was able to limit GW to a 19-for-57 field goal performance (33.3 percent) as the Colonials went 4-for-13 from behind the three-point arc (30.8 percent). George Washington, the worst free throw shooting squad in the 16-team Atlantic 10 entering conference competition, finished 16-for-26 from the foul line (61.5 percent). UMass won the battle in the paint, 26-22 while recording a 16-15 advantage in points off of turnovers. Second change scoring favored the Colonials, 18-10 while the UMass bench recorded 13 points to 11 for the George Washington reserves. Tara Booker and Jackson each netted 14 points for the Colonials; however, UMass kept the duo off-balance for much of the contest, resulting in the pair ending 9-for-30 from the floor (30.0 percent). Lethal From Long Distance Sophomore guard Emily Mital is fourth in the conference for made three-point field goals with 44 for an average of 2.2 per contest while placing ninth in the A-10 for three-point percentage (36.1). Redshirt-sophomore center Millie Niggeling boosts the program's percentage as the sixth-most accurate shooter from beyond the arc within the A-10, hitting 19-of-50 attempts (38.0 percent). Cleaning Glass Timbilla's ability to grab rebounds specifically on offense leads her to own 79 offensive boards so far, the third-most in the conference, while her 3.8 per game average also stands third among student-athletes in the A-10. Far from being a one-dimensional player, Timbilla has also developed a knack for knocking down shots, owning a 75-for-161 clip from the field (46.6 percent), and causing turnovers, earning the 15th-most steals in the conference at 1.7 per game (36). Don't Challenge Us In H-O-R-S-E Niggeling Nets Double-Double In First Collegiate Start Talented Duo Signs NLI's To Join UMass Women's Basketball Family Providing The Helping Hand All That Jas Twenty-one games into the 2012-13 season, Watson has totaled 1,223 career points (12.1 ppg), 683 rebounds (6.8 rpg) and 149 blocks (1.5 bpg). Watson, the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, is currently third on the program's all-time list for career stuffs and ranks third in blocked shots per game. Watson played in and started all 29 UMass contests in 2011-12 and paced the Minutewomen with 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds during the campaign. Watson recorded a team-best 48 blocks, hit 49.0 percent of her field goal attempts (141-of-288) and averaged 28.7 minutes played per game. Watson scored double-digits in points in 21 games in 2011-12, including reaching double-double status in four contests. The South Bend, Ind., native also led UMass in rebounding on 15 occasions. Timbilla's Double-Double Leads UMass To Victory At Ohio, 65-61 Sophomore guard Emily Mital totaled 13 points, four rebounds and three assists while freshman guard Jasmine Harris added nine points and three boards. The UMass team total for blocks fell one shy of tying the program mark for most in a single game, tied most recently against St. Bonaventure on Feb. 27, 2008. UMass (2-5 overall) held a slim lead throughout the majority of the first half, taking a 31-27 advantage into the break. After Ohio secured a 4-3 lead on a pair of Tina Fisher free throws with 17:00 to play in the first, the Minutewomen answered with a Kim Pierre-Louis layup to take the lead for good in the half at the 15:57 mark. The Minutewomen earned their largest advantage of the opening stanza at seven points, 26-19 on a three-pointer by Harris, one of two the freshman produced during the half. Pierre-Louis finished the first with six points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field while Mital and Harris each produced eight points during the first half. UMass tallied the initial seven points of the second to grow its lead to 38-27 with 18:45 remaining. Bomben opened scoring in the 7-0 run with a three-pointer before Timbilla and Rodney produced a layup each to force Ohio to call a timeout. The Bobcats (1-4) answered with a 15-4 run of their own to pull even at 42-42 with 13:09 to play, equalizing the score with a Kiyanna Black layup. Black led all scorers in the contest with 21 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field and a 3-for-4 performance from the free throw line. The contest featured back-and-forth play until the final buzzer as UMass did not relinquish its lead again, but was unable to build an advantage larger than eight over the remainder of the game. After Ohio pulled within one of tying, 51-50 with 6:41 to play, the Minutewomen went on a 9-2 run to pull ahead, 60-52 with 3:23 remaining. Four different UMass players recorded a bucket during the span, with Mital pushing the lead to eight on a three-pointer, one of a trio the sophomore hit against the Bobcats defense. Erin Bailes connected on a shot from behind the arc to drop the UMass advantage to 62-59 with 1:16 remaining. After Timbilla missed a shot with 58 seconds to play, the Bobcats had one last attempt to rally taken away by Mital. The Frisco, Texas, native poked the ball away from Ashley Fowler and knocked down a pair of free throws after taking a foul, extending the UMass lead to 64-59. UMass shot 38.7 percent from the field (24-for-62) and hit 6-of-14 three-point attempts (42.9 percent) while finishing 11-for-16 at the line (68.8 percent). Ohio went 22-for-65 on field goal attempts (33.8 percent) while the Minutewomen defense held the Bobcats to only three made three-pointers in 12 attempts (25.0 percent). Ohio kept the game close with a strong performance at the free throw line, knocking down 14-of-15 attempts (93.3 percent). Redshirt-sophomore forward Millie Niggeling added six points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks over 16 minutes. Forward Aisha Rodney added four points on 2-for-4 shooting from the field to go with a steal in 14 minutes during the sophomore's first start of the season and fifth of her career. UMass was without the help of senior center Jasmine Watson, who is currently listed as day-to-day as she recovers from concussion-related symptoms. UMass Routs Kent State, 83-53 In Season-Opener Watson, who went 8-for-11 from the floor in her 10th career 20-point game, also chipped in with eight rebounds, four blocks, four steals and three assists in 31 minutes on the floor. Sophomore Emily Mital followed with a career-best 16 points and was aided by a 4-for-6 afternoon from beyond the arc. In their debuts as Minutewomen, redshirt junior Kiara Bomben and freshman Rashida Timbilla both reached double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Timbilla also hauled in 10 boards to complete her double-double, including five on the offensive glass. Bomben snagged four steals and senior Dee Montgomery dished a career-best 11 assists, her second with 10 or more helpers. All 14 UMass players who dressed for the contest saw action with 11 draining buckets in the Minutewomen's highest scoring output since Nov. 28, 2010 at East Carolina. Redshirt sophomore Millie Niggeling paced the UMass bench with seven points, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 on the day. Kent State (0-1) scored on its opening possession to lead 2-0 before the Minutewomen strung together a 13-2 run. Then the Golden Flashes answered with an 11-3 spurt to make it a one possession game at 16-13, with 11:12 to go in the first half. However, UMass drained four of its seven first-half treys in the final eight minutes of the period to help extend the lead to 15 at the break, 39-24. The Minutewomen maintained the double-digit cushion following the intermission as Kent State could draw no closer than 13 the rest of the way. UMass led by 32 with 2:05 remaining, it's largest advantage of the day. Finishing the contest a blistering 33-for-54 from the floor, the Minutewomen shot 61.1% overall, the squad's best performance since facing Yale on Jan. 22, 2008 (33-for-52, 63.5%). UMass made 10-of-18 (55.6%) from long range, while converting 7-of-12 at the charity stripe. The Minutewomen nearly doubled up the Golden Flashes on the boards, out-rebounding Kent State, 41-23. The Golden Flashes shot 39.3% (22-for-56) overall in the contest and had two scorers in double figures, Diamon Beckford with 15 points and Trisha Krewson with 11. Tamzin Barroilhet hauled in a team-high eight rebounds and dished three assists. Watson Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Watson finished the contest against the Golden Flashes with a team-high 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor and a 5-for-8 day at the free throw line. Watson also tallied eight rebounds while adding four blocks and four steals to the winning effort. Watson Tallies 1,000th Career Point Timbilla Nets Double-Double In First Collegiate Game Timbilla provided clutch outputs in both categories, hitting on 5-of-7 field goals (.714 pct.) to go with a free throw while tally five of her 10 boards on the offensive end of the court. Bomben, Montgomery and Watson Named 2012-13 Team Captains Watson enters her senior season looking to become the 18th member of the Minutewomen's 1,000-points club, starting the year just 20 points shy of the 1,000-mark. Montgomery is also set to use her experience to guide the Minutewomen as a senior, beginning the campaign with 72 appearances and 22 starts. Bomben will be seeing her first minutes at UMass as a redshirt-junior after spending the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons at Florida Gulf Coast University. Coming From Near And Far Jasmine Harris, Adriana Jordan and Aisha Rodney represent Michigan while two players are from within the Massachusetts borders in Amber Dillon and Victoria Stewart. UMass also has one student-athlete each from Indiana (Jasmine Watson), New Jersey (Nola Henry), Ohio (Ronni Grandison), Tennessee (Dee Montgomery) and Texas (Emily Mital). Women's Basketball Radio Show On WMUA New Minutewomen Faces Bomben transferred to UMass prior to the 2011-12 season and was required to sit out the campaign as per NCAA policy. The Australia native spent her first two seasons with Florida Gulf Coast before transferring and will be looked upon as a leader on an off the floor in 2012-13 as Bomben was named a captain with seniors Dee Montgomery and Jasmine Watson. The five 2012-13 true-freshman are Nola Henry, Jasmine Harris, Adriana Jordan, Victoria Stewart and Rashida Timbilla. Henry started at point guard for Trenton Catholic (N.J.) during the squad's run to the NJSIAA Non-Public 8 Championship in 2010-11 while Harris averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds for North Farmington (Mich.) as a senior in 2011-12. Jordan was twice named an all-state recipient at Port Huron (Mich.) and won the Nike National Championship with the U-15 Motor City Suns. Stewart is a local product, hailing from Amherst, and was named a Franklin-Hampshire County All-Star and Daily Hampshire Gazette First Team honor at Amherst-Pelham Regional. Timbilla played one year for prep school Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) after attending John McCrae Secondary in Ontario, where she average more than 20 points and 14 rebounds per game in 2010-11. Octavia Thomas Selected To UMass Hall Of Fame
The No. 2 scorer in program history, Thomas was a major force in the program's resurgence in the mid-1990's. During her career from 1993-1996, Thomas helped turn a program that had won nine total games in the previous three seasons into one that made the WNIT and the NCAA Tournament during her junior and senior campaigns.
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