World news – UMass had no answer to Villanova’s offense on Friday night

In the first round of the Women’s National Invitational, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team had no response to the Villanova-dominated offense.

What looked like a lively team in Richmond all weekend was in Charlotte on Friday night not fully visible when the Wildcats took control of all levels of the game.

Villanova (16-6, 9-5 Big East) turned off the lights from the start. UMass (14-8, 7-5 Atlantic-10) failed to reflect any success from downtown Wildcats.

The Minutewomen threw a zone at the Wildcats that had no impact on their three-point threats and guards who had a strong dribble ability had.

« We didn’t implement our schedule, » said head coach Tory Verdi. “When we got in we wanted to pressure anyone who had the ball … and we didn’t. We allowed them to come to terms with their deaths. “

The striker from Villanova, Madison Siegrist, prevailed in the first quarter alone with 13 points against UMass 12 against the Minutewomen. In the first half Siegrist came out with four rebounds and two blocks 3: 4 from behind the arch.

Verdi gave Siegrist the recognition her performance deserved. Describes how much she is a “professional” even in the second year.

UMass unusually had no 3-pointers in the first half and went from 0 to 5 from the city center. This value did not improve when the Minutewomen of the 3-point line 0:11 went. Every time Destiney Philoxy tried to get a production run, white jerseys prevented any hang-ups and clogged the lane, giving the Minutewomen minimal chance of success.

If it hadn’t been for Sam Breen’s Summer Beater Layup to finish the first half, Siegrist would have UMass exceeded again. Breen’s layup scored 39-21, while Siegrist himself finished the halftime with 20 points. Siegrist finished the game with 32 points. The Wildcats shot 48% off the field in the first half.

Villanova picked up exactly where it left off at the beginning of the third quarter and immediately responded to Philoxy’s layup with another 3-pointer and layup.

In the middle of the third quarter, further 3-point shots extended the lead of the Wildcats. UMass lost 22, and in the third quarter it was just under six minutes.

As much as the Minutewomen tried to be successful, it was against a team that started the night 13 to 24 from the 3-point line finished, rather impossible.

« You have to honor them, they were really good, » said Verdi. “Their size bothered us a lot, their length bothered us. We missed layups, whether in a transition or rebound put backs. Even her activity after touching Sam [Breen] tried to post, we were intimidated to throw the ball at her because of her activity level. Getting your hands on passports and what not. “

 » I was just disappointed because we didn’t play UMass basketball, « said Verdi. “I think we just got faster tonight, we played against a really good team and we were frustrated. Instead of getting together, we tried to do things ourselves and we were a little broken. “

UMass will play in a consolation game on Saturday that will give the Minutewomen one last chance to hit the field this season.

 » I’m just glad this was our last game because I was myself don’t want to remember this game, « said Verdi. « I want to play again tomorrow and be a bit more productive than we are here today. »

Both Sam Breen and Verdi expect that tomorrow they will systematically return to what they are on the pitch through communication both ends of the ball and return to minutewomen basketball altogether.