Welcome to the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Tipoff for the 2019-20 Season. This afternoon, we feature the Massachusetts Minutewomen.
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During a summertime trip overseas, UMass coined the hashtag #RisingInPortugal.
An appropriate hashtag for the 2019-20 season is #RisingMinutewomen.
The upward trajectory for UMass continued a year ago when the Minutewomen won a game at the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since 2016, collected the most total victories in a season since 2006-07, and punched a ticket to the A-10 quarterfinals for the first time since 2005.
“The last three years with this program have been all about making strides,” said coach Tory Verdi, who inherited a program on the heels of a 9-21 season; the steady improvement now has the program perched to move into the top half of the Atlantic 10. Last year’s victories over Duquesne, Davidson and George Mason were key, as was the offseason European venture.
“Going to Portugal made an unbelievable impact on our program,” Verdi said. “Every summer since I’ve been here, it’s been something we wanted to do. This past summer was the right year to go. The freshmen we brought in had an opportunity to get three games under their belt. It brought us together as a team.”
Verdi said UMass is no longer hampered by inexperience in the backcourt and a lack of post depth. Two freshmen, Angelique Ngalakulondi, 6-2, and Maeve Donnelly, 6-5, will look to score inside, which should free up Destiney Philoxy on the perimeter.
“Destiney has continuously grown as a scoring guard,” Verdi said of the sophomore, named to the league’s All-Rookie team last year and a player who has worked to improve from beyond the arc.
"If we’re playing our best basketball, we’re one of the top four to six teams in the league,” Verdi said. “On any given night, it’s about opportunity. I’ve been preaching consistency. If we can figure that part out, it catapults us even higher.”
A look at the Minutewomen:
Coach: Tory Verdi, 4th year at UMass, 39-53, 9th year overall, 114-121
Last year: 16-16, 7-9 in the Atlantic 10 (lost to Fordham 73-62 in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Championship)
They’ll miss: Co-captain Jessica George, who recorded double-figure scoring in 14 games her senior season, has graduated. The 5-10 guard started every game last season, averaging 8.5 ppg.
Impact returners: Returning leading scorer Hailey Leidel, a co-captain, averaged 13.2 ppg with six double-doubles. A-10 All-Rookie Philoxy played in 29 games, starting five. The 5-7 guard ranked fourth in the conference in FG percentage and averaged 10.8 ppg. Versatile junior Bre Hampton-Bey started 22 games, averaging 8.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 2.5 apg.
Newbies of note: Angelique Ngalakulondi and Maeve Donnelly each have length at the post and are capable scorers who should contribute immediately. Junior forward Sam Breen, a transfer from Penn State, is another offensive-minded post who will be eligible for spring semester.
Reasons to be optimistic: The trip to Portugal came at an ideal time in Verdi's rebuilding cycle as this is the most talented UMass roster in recent memory.
Circle the date: When Verdi recruits, he’s never surprised to see former St. Bonaventure and current Providence Coach Jim Crowley in the vicinity. “We recruit the same players; we’re at the same games,” he said. That makes the Nov. 9 home date versus Providence “a statement game for us,” he said. “We’ll find out exactly where we are.”
Bottom line: The growing pains are over for this squad, which has transformed its roster and expectations under Verdi, a former assistant in the WNBA. Now it’s all about plain growth. Expect UMass to continue moving forward.