Minutewomen Take Bulls to the Limit, Fall in OT Heartbreaker 82-84

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Minutewomen's (17-15) WNIT run came to an end in the second round, unable to overcome Buffalo (26-7) on the road in an 84-82 overtime bout.

Yahmani McKayle led the UMass offense with 19 points on 3-5 shooting from three point range. The freshman added four rebounds and three assists on the day.

Stefanie Kulesza added 18 points, five steals, three rebounds, and three assists in 30 minutes of action. The senior guard was efficient in her production, going 7-11 from the field and 3-6 from range.

Megan Olbrys tallied a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Olbrys also dished out eight assists, marking a career-high for the junior forward.

Allie Palmieri (12 points) and Lilly Ferguson (10 points) rounded out the double-figure scorers for UMass. Palmieri scored 10 of her 12 in the fourth and overtime periods, helping Massachusetts weather the Buffalo surge late in the game. Ferguson added six rebounds and four assists.

Breaking Down The Action

After Buffalo scored the opening two baskets, UMass went on an 8-0 run fueled by baskets from Chinenye Odenigbo, Yahmani McKayle, and Stefanie Kulesza.
Megan Olbrys tallied her fourth assist of the game with 4:11 left in the first quarter, finding Odenigbo to go up 10-4.
Kulesza scored the closing five points for Massachusetts in the opening quarter as UMass took a 19-16 lead into the second.
Jess Ross checked in to open quarter two, knocking down a corner three off an assist by Allie Palmieri.
With 46 seconds remaining in the first half, Kulesza hit back-to-back triples to go up 33-29.
The Minutewomen would enter the halftime break with a 33-31 advantage.
A three by McKayle with 4:49 left in the third capped off a 13-2 run by UMass, extending the lead to 10.
Back-to-back baskets from Lilly Ferguson would give the Minutewomen a 61-45 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Buffalo surged back to bring it within four points with 5:11 left in regulation, Palmieri answered with a three to give the team a 66-59 lead.
Massachusetts would go down 69-72 after a pair of Buffalo free throws, however Palmieri hit another from behind the arc to tie the game at 72.
Palmieri hit one last jumper to knot the game for a third time at 74, forcing overtime as neither side found a basket in the final moments of regulation.
Free throws by McKayle and a layup by Palmieri would give UMass the 78-76 lead with 4:05 remaining.
Another pair of makes at the line for McKayle, followed by two from Ferguson, made it an 82-81 game in favor of the Minutewomen.
Massachusetts surrendered a layup with 1:50 remaining in overtime, going down 82-84.
Unable to find an equalizer, Buffalo was able to close out the game.

By The Numbers

41: UMass out-rebounded its opponent 41-22.
19: Yahmani McKayle led all Massachusetts scorers with 19 points.
13: Megan Olbrys tied a career-high with 13 rebounds on the day.
10: Allie Palmieri scored 10 points in the fourth and overtime periods.
8: Olbrys set a career-high with 8 assists.
5: Stefanie Kulesza grabbed five steals on the day.

Scoreboard