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Minutewomen Conclude Four-Game Road Swing At Ole Miss
Dec. 7, 2012
The Last Meeting
November 26, 2011
Amherst, Mass.
Scouting Ole Miss Women's Basketball Under Frank this season, Diara Moore is pacing the squad with 13.7 points per game while Valencia McFarland adds 10.0 in each contest on average. Kenyotta Jenkins and Gracie Frizzell follow Moore and McFarland, with Jenkins tally 8.7 points per game and Frizzell following closely behind at 8.6 per contest. Jenkins is tied for the team lead in rebounding (6.5) with Danielle McCray. Overall, Ole Miss is outscoring its opponents by 5.5 points per game (69.5-to-64.0) and is winning the rebounding war, 42.2-to-36.7 through six contests. However, foes have been more consistent shooting from the floor, totaling an advantage in field goal percentage (42.6-to-38.4) and three-point percentage (31.3-to-23.6). The Rebels and Minutewomen have faced off once before in the history of the programs, with Ole Miss taking a 72-67 decision at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass., on Nov. 26, 2011 to begin competition between the squads. Last Time Out Against The Rebels Jasmine Watson led four Minutewomen in double figures, posting her second double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals. Shakia Robinson had 17 points and five boards off the bench, while Carolann Cloutier added a career-high 15 points and dished four assists. Emilie Teuscher chipped in with eight points, six boards and five assists. After a 4-0 start for Ole Miss, Cloutier's free throw at 16:01 gave UMass its first lead of the game, part of a 10-0 run for the Minutewomen that put the squad out in front, 10-4 at the 14:23 mark in the opening half. UMass went on to lead by as many as 13 in the period when Robinson's layup at 4:03 brought the score to 34-21. However, the Rebels responded with a three from Whitney Hameth, one of three she made in the final 3:43 of the frame to lead a 13-2 run for Ole Miss that cut the deficit to 36-34 at the intermission. The Rebels came out of the break with a layup by Valencia McFarland that tied the score, but a 7-1 stretch helped the Minutewomen back out to a six-point advantage with 14:52 remaining. However, Ole Miss stayed with UMass and did not trail again after the 8:46 mark when a basket by Hameth that put the Rebels on top, 51-50. Robinson completed a three-point play that tied the score at 65 with 1:23 to go, but free throws helped Ole Miss hang on despite a layup by Cloutier that brought the Minutewomen within one with 34 seconds left. UMass shot strong out of the gate, making 14-of-26 from the field in the first half (53.8%) and finished the afternoon at 43.3% (26-60) overall. The Minutewomen made 4-of-11 (36.4%) from three-point range and converted 11-of-14 attempts (78.6%) at the charity stripe, while out-rebounding the Rebels, 40-36. Ole Miss was 24-for-65 (36.9%) from the field on the day, 5-of-16 (31.3%) from three and 19-of-24 (79.2%) at the free throw line. Nikki Byrd led the Rebels with a double-double on 26 points and 17 boards, while also grabbing four steals. McFarland totaled 15 points and five assists and Amber Singletary and Hameth finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Last Time Out: Minutewomen Drop 73-50 Decision At Boston University Freshman guard Nola Henry dished out five assists, scored four points, grabbed three rebounds and earned two steals. Watson notched all 10 of her points during the second half, finishing the frame 5-for-9 from the field. The Terriers opened the contest hitting eight of their first 12 field goal attempts (66.7 percent), including both three-pointers, to build a 20-5 lead with 11:56 remaining in the first. After Boston University took a 7-0 lead to start the contest, Timbilla and sophomore guard Emily Mital tallied back-to-back buckets to pull UMass within three points of tying at the 17:17 mark. However, the Terriers responded with a 13-0 run spanning the following 4:28 to extend the advantage to 20-4. UMass was unable to shrink the deficit under 15 during the remainder of the first half. Overall in the opening stanza, UMass knocked down 8-of-30 field goals (26.7 percent) while Boston University connected on 14 of its 31 attempts (45.2 percent). After tallying two points in the opening half, Niggeling paced the UMass offense following the break, knocking down a trio of three-pointers in succession, with the final made trey dropping the deficit to 47-28 with 13:05 remaining. However, Boston University was able to keep hold of the double-digit lead throughout the final half with a game-high 20 points from Rashidat Agboola. Chantell Alford added 17 points while Mo Moran tallied nine points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Terriers. Boston University led in points in the paint, 34-26 and points off of turnover, 19-8. The UMass bench outscored BU's reserves, 21-11. The Minutewomen show 20-for-60 from the field (33.3 percent) overall while the Terriers finished 29-for-60 (48.3 percent). Timbilla's Double-Double Leads UMass To Victory At Ohio, 65-61 UMass women's basketball secured its first road victory of the season with a 65-61 win at Ohio University's Convocation Center on Thursday. Freshman guard Rashida Timbilla led the Minutewomen with her second career double-double, producing 16 points and 13 rebounds, including seven boards on the offensive glass, while adding four of UMass' 11 blocks on the day. 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.
Upcoming Promotion: Family Night Cleaning Glass Timbilla's ability to grab rebounds on the offensive glass leads her to own 40 offensive boards so far, the most among all A-10 women's basketball players while her 4.4 per game average stands second specifically on the offensive end of the court. Far from being a one-dimensional player, Timbilla has also developed a knack for causing turnovers - with the sixth-most steals in the conference at 2.2 per game (20) - and turning aside shots, totaling 11 blocks through nine contests (1.2 per game; 12th).
Making That Last Pass Taking care of the ball is a trademark of Montgomery's game, as the senior owns 170 helpers over four seasons against only 143 turnovers while recording a positive assist-to-turnover margin in each of her three campaigns seeing considerable minutes for the Minutewomen. Mital's Emergence In her 12 games as a starter, Mital has made the most of her opportunities, averaging 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per-game while shooting 43-for-117 (36.8 percent) from the field, including 25-for-63 (39.7 percent) from behind the arc. On three occasions, Mital has reset her single-game career-high in points scored during the span of starts. The sophomore guard produced 11 points against Rhode Island on Feb. 22, 2012 as a freshman before notching another personal best with 16 against Kent State during UMass' 2012-13 season-opener on Nov. 10. Mital followed with a 22-point outburst at Central Connecticut on Nov. 13, shooting 8-for-13 from the floor, including 6-for-10 from behind the arc, to add her first 20-point performance with the Minutewomen. Mital's six three-pointers ties the sophomore for fifth-most in a single contest in program history, only one shy of equaling the program mark of seven most recently achieved by Megan Zullo against Duquesne on Jan. 25, 2012. All That Jas Watson played in and started all 29 UMass contests as a junior and paced the Minutewomen with 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds during the 2011-12 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. Nine games into her fourth season at UMass, Watson has totaled 1,090 career points (12.2 ppg), 611 rebounds (6.9 rpg) and 137 blocks (1.6 bpg). Watson, the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, is currently fifth on the program's all-time list for career stuffs and ranks third in blocked shots per game. Watson missed the most recent contest due to injury and is listed as day-to-day entering the game against Miami (Ohio). 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 1,000 Career Point Using her 10th collegiate game of 20 or more points, Watson became just the 18th member to the illustrious club and now stands 14 points from overtaking Beth Wilbor (1985-89) for 17th in career scoring. 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 tournaments during her junior and senior campaigns. Program Earns 500th Win At Siena
To secure the decision, four Minutewomen earned double-figures, including 14 points each from Emilie Teuscher and Megan Zullo. Now-senior Jasmine Watson contributed a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards while current-redshirt-junior Carolann Cloutier added 10 points and four assists.
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Despite a well-rounded team effort by the UMass women's basketball squad, Ole Miss managed to rally in the second half to edge the Minutewomen, 72-67 at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon. Following the loss, UMass is now 1-4 on the season, while the Rebels move their record to 4-1.
