UMass women’s basketball defeats Boston College, 61-53, extends winning streak

The UMass women’s basketball team continued its winning streak to begin the season on Saturday, defeating Boston College, 61-53.

Megan Olbrys led the way for the Minutewomen with arguably the best game of her career to this point.

A career-high 24 points for the senior was the most by a player for UMass this season, adding 12 rebounds in the process.

It was a quick start for Olbrys against the Eagles, scoring 15 points in the first quarter. She took nearly half of the team’s shots in the opening frame, facilitating the offense from all three levels.

The majority of Olbrys’ success came in the paint, using her strength and touch around the rim to convert layups at will. Many of her opportunities came off second-chance points, finishing the game with four of the Minutewomen’s 15 offensive rebounds.

“I credit everything to my teammates,” Olbrys said. “They found me, especially early on. We were sharing the ball, and that’s how I basically got my points. I wouldn’t be able to get it without them, and them having the confidence to take the shot, and if it didn’t go in, just being there for the rebounding position I need to be in.”

UMass struggled to find scoring from its other players outside of Yahmani McKayle on Saturday, especially throughout the first half.

McKayle had nine points in the first 20 minutes, all from behind the three-point line. Allie Palmieri got her fair share of shots up early on, but couldn’t find the bottom of the net.

As the second half got underway, Palmieri began to get hot, scoring her first points of the game in the third quarter at the charity stripe.

The graduate got in a groove as the half progressed, hitting shots from deep and finishing strong at the rim on the fast break. She finished with a solid 14-point performance, one that looked unlikely after starting the game 0-of-9 from the field.

“I couldn’t have done without my teammates and them just having my back because I didn’t have the best start to this game,” Palmieri said. “Them having my back, my coaches, having my back was really huge, and it just gave me all the confidence.”

A big reason Palmieri’s second-half turnaround was so necessary for the Minutewomen was due to an injury to Chinenye Odenigbo early in the second quarter.

The junior came out of the game less than one minute into the quarter, hobbling off the court without putting much weight on her right ankle.

After heading straight to the locker room, Odenigbo returned to the bench in the third quarter, supporting an ankle brace, but never checked back into the game.

In Odenigbo’s absence, Jess Ross was thrust into a larger role, appearing in her second game of the season to this point.

Although she didn’t score, Ross helped replace the lost size and strength from Odenigbo on defense and on the glass, tallying four rebounds.

“[Ross] stepped up, [she’s] been doing some good stuff at practice,” UMass head coach Mike Leflar said. “She just adds a really good dimension with her length and athleticism.”

Lilly Ferguson also saw an uptick in minutes with Odenigbo sidelined, playing in 25 minutes and finishing with four points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals. The senior also had her team’s highest plus/minus at plus-10.

The win for the Minutewomen was the first time the program has defeated the in-state rival Eagles since the 2007-2008 season, and the first time Leflar has won as a head coach against his alma mater.

After a tough loss against Boston College last season, this year’s matchup was one UMass had circled on the schedule, hoping to get redemption.

“When you have a group that returns and remembers that stuff, that’s when you can make that important and use it as motivation,” Leflar said of last year’s loss. “That’s where all this begins, you know, with having four starters back and a majority of the team back, and then understanding the journey.”

With the win, the Minutewomen improve to 5-0 on the season, hoping to continue their hot streak to begin the year.

UMass’ next contest will be against another fellow Massachusetts opponent, traveling to Worcester to take on Holy Cross on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 6 p.m.

“We still have the mindset of, ‘we’re 0-0 going into the next game,’” Palmieri said. “We know Holy Cross is a great team. We have to be grateful and know that we are building something great, but every team is going to give us their best effort every game.”