Women's Basketball Squeaks By Eastern Michigan, 83-80, For 10th Straight Home Win

Dec. 13, 2006

AMHERST, Mass. -- Massachusetts (9-2) had four double-figure scorers as it held on to beat Eastern Michigan (4-4), 83-80, Wednesday night for its 10th straight home win. The Minutewomen led by as many as 17 points late in the first half, but saw the Eagles lead briefly in the game's final moments before pulling out the win. UMass shot 53 percent from the field for the game, including 67 percent in the first half. Junior Kate Mills (Elkton, Md.) led UMass with 20 points and seven rebounds. Senior Tamara Tatham (Brampton, Ontario) added 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while freshman Kim Benton (Springfield, Pa.) added 15 points and four steals. Junior Pam Rosanio (Southampton, Pa.) had 11 points, six boards and five assists. UMass had 21 assists on its 27 field goals and was 23-for-30 (.767) from the free throw line.

Both teams shot well in the first half, but it was the Minutewomen who could not miss. It was 12-12 five minutes into the start of the game when UMass reeled off seven straight points in the next two minutes to take a 19-12 lead. It was then 21-16 UMass when it went on a 13-2 run in the next 3:13 to open up a 16-point lead at 34-18 with 6:50 left and force an Eastern Michigan timeout. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half and UMass took a 48-33 lead into the locker room. It marked the most points by the Minutewomen in a half this year.

UMass shot a blistering 67 percent (20-30) from the field in the first half and had 17 assists on its 20 baskets. In addition, UMass was 6-for-7 (.857) from three-point range. Benton had four of those three-pointers for 12 points to lead all scorers. It was a very balanced UMass attack as all five starters had at least five points and junior Whitney McDonald (Ossining, N.Y.) chipped in with six points off the bench.

The Eagles came out of the gates quickly in the second half. Alyssa Pittman drained a three-pointer and then a steal and lay-up by Brittany Tyson cut UMass' lead to 10 points and forced a Minutewoman timeout. UMass got its lead back up to 15 points, but the Eagles kept chipping away and got within seven points at 60-53 with 10:05 left forcing another UMass timeout.

The timeout did not slow down the Eagles though as another three-pointer cut UMass' lead to just four points. This time, it was Kendra Gallert who nailed the shot from the corner. Eastern Michigan remained red-hot and a three-pointer by Sarah VanMetre made it just a two-point game at 65-63 with just under eight minutes left in regulation. It was the closest that Eastern Michigan had been since it was 12-12. The Eagles dominated the offensive boards and used second, third and even fourth chances to score in the second half while forcing UMass to keep turning the ball over.

Another VanMetre three-ball made it a one-point game. Her trifecta came after four straight offensive boards. Following a basket by Rosanio, Pittman tied the game at 69 with a three-pointer at the five-minute mark. EMU's Kelly Watts then made a pair of free throws to give the Eagles their first lead since it was 5-4 at the 17:45 mark of the first half.

There were two ties and four lead changes in the next minute and a half until the Minutewomen took the lead for good on basket by Rosanio at the 2:38 mark. The Minutewomen upped their lead to three points on a pair of free throws by Mills with 2:18 left, but there was no more scoring until Patrice McKinney made a free throw for the Eagles with 27 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, EMU immediately fouled Benton who made both her free throws to put UMass up 81-77 with 26 seconds left.

Eastern Michigan showed that it would not go away as VanMetre drained another three-pointer with 14 seconds left to cut UMass' lead to one at 81-80. Benton was fouled again and this time she made just one leaving the door open for Eastern Michigan. McKinney drove right to the basket and threw up a wild shot that rimmed out and Tamara Tatham grabbed the rebound for UMass. Tatham was fouled, but only made one so EMU had one last chance down a point with five seconds left. Pittman had a look, but her desperation attempt to tie the game bounced off the back of the rim and UMass hung on.

UMass shot 33 percent (7-21) in the second half to finish at a 53 percent (27-51) clip for the game. The Minutewomen were 6-of-9 (.667) from three-point range and 23-for-30 (.767) at the free throw line, including 21-for-27 (.778) in the second half. The Eagles shot 40 percent (29-73) from the field, including 12-for-29 (.414) from three-point range. The Eagles attempted 19 trifectas in the second half. Pittman led all scorers with 27 points and was 7-for-18 from three-point range. McKinney added 19 points while VanMetre had 17 points and 13 boards. Eastern Michigan had 20 offensive rebounds, but turned them into just 19 second-chance points.

Massachusetts will remain at home to host Delaware Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM. The Blue Hens are 8-1 and have won seven games in a row. The game will be broadcast on WMUA, 91.1 FM in Amherst, and online at www.umassathletics.com. Marc Bertrand and Zach Claudio have the call beginning at 1:30 PM with the pre-game show. Live video, stats and audio will be available at www.umassathletics.com. For tickets, please call the UMass Ticket Office at 1-866-UMASS-TIX or purchase online at www.umassathletics.com.

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