Wednesday night against Boston College is arguably the UMass women’s basketball team’s biggest game of the year. Sitting with a 9-1 record, the Minutewomen are the hottest team on campus right now, and their home game against the Eagles is sure to be an entertaining, albeit deeply personal one.
Last year when UMass took on BC, it rallied from a 20-point deficit to force overtime, but missed a chance to win it in regulation – Ber’Nyah Mayo took a late shot behind the arc to try and earn the win, but missed. Destiney Philoxy fouled out, Sam Breen was in foul trouble, and the Eagles steamrolled the Minutewomen in overtime, scoring 13 unanswered points en route to a 90-82 win.
So, will this be a revenge game for UMass?
Both Breen and Philoxy didn’t hesitate; both chorused “Yes,” before the question was even finished.
“Last year should have been our game,” said Breen on the OT loss.
“We definitely got better,” said Philoxy. “And we know the team like the back of our hands. I want to see how they react to us, instead of us reacting to them.”
It’s not just the sour taste that BC left in UMass’ mouth that makes Wednesday’s game a monumental one – it’s the first time the Minutewomen have hosted a Power 5 school since 2014, and after a statement performance against then No. 13 Iowa State at the Gulf Coast Showcase two weeks ago, this is a UMass team that has shown it can put away opponents when it’s firing on all cylinders.
“I expect us to go out there and work extremely hard. They’re a very talented team coming off a loss, so we expect to get their best,” said UMass coach Tory Verdi on BC. “It’s an opportunity for us to play a really good quality team, a Power Five school, and I think all these games are going to prepare us for the A-10.”
He shouldn’t have to worry about his players working hard – this is a group that’s always extremely motivated, but especially so for this contest.
“[Wednesday]’s game…when we come up with the W, it’s gonna show who UMass really are, and set the tone for the actual season,” said Philoxy confidently.
JOINING THE 1K CLUB: Breen and Philoxy obviously want the win against the Eagles, but both have some personal goals, too. Both players are likely to hit the 1,000 point mark on Wednesday; Breen is just three points away, while Philoxy is 10 points away herself.
“It’s super exciting,” said Breen on the milestone. “Transferring into UMass, that’s not really the idea I had coming in, that I was gonna be that productive. I just came here wanting to play and wanting to have fun and I know I’m definitely doing that.”
Philoxy echoed that sentiment, while noting it’s hard to react to a milestone that technically hasn’t happened yet.
“It means a lot to me,” said Philoxy. “I’m the only one here left that’s playing, I owe Verdi everything just for keeping me here and believing in me, and believing I can make a change just like he did.”
It’ll be an emotional moment for Verdi as well, though he knows that the 1,000-point marker isn’t the only goal the team has for Wednesday.
“For them, I think it’s truly special, because it shows their commitment, their investment,” Verdi said. “Once that milestone comes about, yeah, we’ll give them a quick hug and and quick high five, tell them I love them, and (then) we’re going to back at it and be like, ‘Hey, you still got a job to do, it’s to beat BC.’”
SECOND CHANCES – One of UMass’ strong suits all season has been its rebounding game. On the national level, UMass is ranked second in the country with 440 rebounds in 10 games. Over a quarter of those belong to Breen, also ranked second in the country individually with 119 boards. Most of those are defensive, but Angelique Ngalakulondi has the offensive side of things on lock, grabbing 37 offensive rebounds alone this year.
“(Pretty much) every game… I say every time I miss, I know she has my own board,” said Breen on Ngalakulondi’s talent for offensive rebounds. “(It’s not really even) a miss at that point because it’s just a board for her, a put back for her and she finishes it every time. She’s incredible. Sometimes I really don’t know how she gets it. She’s always in the right place right time.”
LOOKING FOR DEPTH: As the season goes along, expect to see Verdi experimenting with lineups to get more bench players more minutes. Though he’s clearly happy with his starting rotation, and Ngalakulondi and Shavonne Smith have established themselves as his go-to bench players, Verdi said he is still looking for one or two more players to increase the bench depth and give him more options.
“I’d be really comfortable with adding just one more and being at eight [rotation players]. It’s just with the newbies understanding our system, getting comfortable, getting acclimated. You’re probably saying ‘Well, it’s December, how come they’re not ready?’” said Verdi, taking the role of a reporter for a moment. “Well, you look at the teams that we’ve played, we’ve been in some games now. I’m not going to just all of a sudden start throwing people out there… I’m going to play the people I know I’m going to get the production from. With practice, we’re gonna develop some of these guys and be prepared to get them on the floor and be successful.”
COACH OF THE WEEK: It’s practically old news, but still worth mentioning that Verdi got a shout-out from ESPN writer Mechelle Voepel as the her women’s basketball coach of the week last Monday. Though he wasn’t expecting it, it’s an honor Verdi certainly appreciated.
“I didn’t expect it and I will say this, that my phone, we landed and as soon as I turned it on, my phone was blowing up,” said Verdi, cracking a smile. “It’s great, but I give all the credit to our players, that’s the reason why I got that. It’s a team award, not an individual award. I have a great coaching staff. I am not doing this by myself, I promise you that.”