UMass women’s basketball: Minutewomen stay perfect at Mullins in 75-60 win over EMU

AMHERST — The UMass women’s basketball team maintained its undefeated home record with a 75-60 victory over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night.

UMass dominated defensively to begin the game, running a 3-2 zone that Eastern Michigan couldn’t seem to figure out. The Minutewomen flew around the court, getting a hand up on nearly every shot attempt, while keeping the ball out of the paint.

The Eagles shot just 2-of-14 (14.3%) from the field in the opening frame, only tallying five points through 10 minutes. UMass kept its pressure high, forcing six turnovers in the first quarter and scoring nine of its first 22 points by turning them into offense on the other end.

“Eastern [Michigan] was slow to get into offense, and I think that there wasn’t a lot of penetrating passes or dribble penetration, and that’s what the zone should do,” Minutewomen head coach Mike Leflar said. “So it certainly did its job. And we did a great job rebounding out of it early.”

Ayanna Franks played a big part in the Minutewomen’s success on the defensive end, filling up the stat sheet in the win. With some of the quickest hands in the country (16th in the nation with 3.11 steals per game), Franks consistently bothered Eagles ball-handlers and kept a close watch on passing lanes.

The sophomore tallied three steals and a block on the night, adding in an impressive night on the offensive end as well. Franks finished with 14 points, along with five rebounds and a career high seven assists.

“[Franks’] impact has been really great this year,” Leflar said. “In so many ways, I just want her to remain really confident in what she can do offensively … [I’m] really proud of the effort that she puts in every day and see it at practice every day. So it was nice to see it in the game.”

Despite the early struggles for Eastern Michigan offensively, the team didn’t let up. Coming out of the half facing a 44-21 deficit, the Eagles found a groove on the offensive end. After just 21 points through the first 20 minutes of play, the team put together 23 over the course of the third quarter.

Allie Palmieri missed the Minutewomen’s most recent game prior to Wednesday night’s contest with a concussion, coming back with a vengeance against Eastern Michigan. Despite coming off the bench, the graduate played 31 minutes, playing a huge role in her team’s victory.

Checking in with 6:20 to play in the first quarter, Palmieri provided an instant spark off the bench. The guard was a huge threat on the perimeter, hitting a team-high three 3-pointers on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Palmieri finished the night with an efficient 18 total points.

“It was [nice] just seeing that I’m back to normal, just getting my confidence back and making sure that everything was like how it was before,” Palmieri said. “I wouldn’t say it’s any different than any other game, but it was just good to see the ball going in after everything I had gone through with my head.”

On a night that UMass struggled from the outside, having even one player in a groove made all the difference. The Minutewomen shot just 5-of-20 (25%) from behind the 3-point line, getting 36 of their 75 points from inside the paint.

Megan Olbrys continued to battle through her broken nose on Wednesday night, sporting a new black mask covering her face. With it now shaped to her face, the senior looked comfortable, tallying 15 points.

Paint success wasn’t easy to come by down the stretch for either team, but Olbrys did her best to work for position inside and finish tough around the rim.

“[I’ve been] practicing those shots every day, facing up and just working on that type of game,” Olbrys said. “[Wednesday] was good. [The mask has] been great. I finally got it molded to my face, so I’ve had really no issues with it.”

With the win, UMass improves to 16-4 on the season, and 8-2 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Minutewomen will look to make it 10 straight wins at home to start the season on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 12 p.m. against James Madison in the MAC-SBC Challenge.

“The way we started was great,” Leflar said. “It’s just continuing to mature and grow and keep understanding we’ve got to put our foot on the gas and keep them on the gas.”