University of Massachusetts women’s basketball (9-9, 4-3 A-10) fell to Saint Joseph’s University (14-4, 5-2 A-10), 67-55, at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon.
Junior forward Megan Olbrys led UMass in points with 21, making 10-of-11 field goals. Olbrys added four rebounds, two assists and a career-best three blocks on the day. Freshman guard Yahmani McKayle also finished in double figures, securing 11 points. McKayle and sophomore center Chinenye Odenigbo tallied five assists each, marking a career-high for Odenigbo. Senior guard Allie Palmieri came down with a career and team-best seven rebounds.
Saint Joseph’s scored first with a three-pointer, as Olbrys answered with a layup to make it a 3-2 start. The Hawks scored their second triple of the game, but Olbrys cut the deficit by two with SJU leading 6-4. With SJU leading, 9-4, Palmieri responded to another Hawks’ three with a three-point shot of her own to get back within two.
Massachusetts and Saint Joseph’s continued its back-and-forth game as Stefanie Kulesza made back-to-back layups to make it a 14-13 contest. Yahmani McKayle buried a three from the top of the key to give UMass its first lead of the day at 16-14.
The two teams tied at 16 apiece, with Olbrys and Kulesza scoring consecutive layups, with Kulesza driving to the hoop, to take the 20-16 lead. The first quarter closed with more back-and-forth scoring, as the two team’s combined for 60% shooting from the field and UMass held a 22-21 lead.
Olbrys tied the game, 26-26, at the 7:32 mark, before Kulesza hit a turnaround jumper to give UMass the two-point lead. The contest was knotted up for the third time at 5:59 of the second quarter from a driving layup by the Hawks to make it 28-28.
McKayle broke the tie at the 3:35 mark with a second-chance jumper, but a quick layup by SJU made it a 30-30 game for the fourth tie of the first half. The Hawks took an 11-0 run to take a nine-point lead, marking the third largest of the contest, to end the first half.
Palmieri opened the second half with a shot from beyond the arc to bring the Mintuewomen within six at 39-33. Olbrys knocked down a jumper to remain perfect from the field (8-for-8) and secure her 16th point of the afternoon in the third quarter.
Chinenye Odenigbo made a layup before Palmieri hit her free throw her attempt to cut Saint Joseph’s lead to nine at the 6:16 mark. SJU pulled ahead by 13, marking the second largest lead of the afternoon, at 51-38 with four minutes and 38 seconds remaining in the third. McKayle made a pair of free throws for UMass, but Saint Joseph’s hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe to lead by 14, the largest of the game, at 60-46 at 6:26 of the fourth quarter.
Olbrys’ and-one off a second-chance layup put the Minutewomen within nine as SJU continued to lead 62-53. Odenigbo fed the ball to Olbrys in the paint, as Olbrys made her 10th field goal of the day and brought UMass within seven.
Saint Joseph’s capped off the game with a 5-0 run, bringing the game to its final score of 67-55.
Massachusetts heads to Kingston, Rhode Island, to face Rhode Island on Wednesday, January 22, for a 6:35 p.m. game.
