WILMINGTON, Del. -- Third-seeded Massachusetts earned the program's second consecutive trip to the Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship Final following a 76-58 victory over No. 7 overall Saint Joseph’s in Saturday afternoon's late Semifinals clash at CHASE Fieldhouse.

Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Sam Breen led the way for UMass as she scored a season-high of 28 points. Breen finished 13-for-19 from the field, pulled down nine rebounds while swiping four steals. Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team selection Sydney Taylor notched 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Additionally, the Minutewomen won the rebounding battle 38-28.

Notably, UMass head coach Tory Verdi registered his 100th career victory with the program.

"I’m just incredibly proud of this team," Verdi said. "Just the fact that we’re in this position again. Last year when we lost to VCU, we talked about this and how this was our goal to get back here, have another opportunity and do what we are capable of doing. Today we had a sense of urgency and I thought we did a great job of executing on both sides of the ball. It was unselfish basketball and I’m proud of our effort here today."

All-Rookie Team forward Laila Fair led Saint Joseph’s with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Rookie of the Year Tayla Brugler contributed 14 points and nine rebounds and graduate student guard Katie Jekot nailed home 10 points.

"I’m proud of the way our kids fought to the very end today," Saint Joseph’s head coach Cindy Griffin said. "You have to give UMass a lot of credit and Sam Breen is a hell of a player. That first quarter really got us. If you look at the rest of the quarter, we competed very well but that first quarter we just couldn’t recover from. We really grew as a team this year and to be where we are from where we started, I am very proud of this group."

Breen picked up where she left off in the quarterfinals, scoring the first six UMass baskets of the game. She first grabbed a rebound off the opening Saint Joseph’s possession and then, down one point, again capitalized on a Hawks turnover. Breen grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a layup. With the Minutewomen now in control of the game, the graduate student again made the Hawks pay on a turnover, burying a 3-pointer. When she converted a pull-up jumper, the Minutewomen led by eight points and Saint Joseph’s called a timeout.

UMass finished a 16-6 run when junior forward Angelique Ngalakulondi grabbed her own miss and swished a layup.

"Executing our offense is always one of our goals," said Breen. "Today we definitely did a good job of that, finding the open person and, if the initial read is there, we can find the skip in the corner. It’s having that momentum and keeping it going."

The Minutewomen led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter but settled for an 11-point margin following 10 minutes. A determined Saint Joseph’s side opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run, cutting its deficit to five points in the process, but UMass bounced back in what was a more defensive-minded quarter, taking an 11-point advantage into halftime.

Though Saint Joseph’s shot 46.7 percent from the field in the third quarter, it was unable to gain any traction as UMass fired at an even 50 percent percent with Taylor accounting for nine of the team’s 18 points, including the first five of the period. Ber’Nyah Mayo’s buzzer-beating layup placed the Minutewomen in front by 14 with 10 minutes to play.

Both teams scored their highest point totals in the fourth quarter, with UMass shooting 76.9 percent from the field and Saint Joseph’s at 64.3 percent. Taylor’s 11 points helped build the Minutewomen advantage as they was able to secure victory.

"We’ve been hungry since that loss last year and the time is finally here," said Breen. "We’re going to give it all we got."