Sam Breen’s first six shots missed. The UMass women’s basketball senior kept firing.
She hit three in a row in the final three minutes of the second quarter at Saint Louis on Friday to cut a seven-point deficit to a single possession.
“I’m never going to tell Sam not to shoot. We ran some stuff for her where she got some 3s. That’s Sam,” UMass coach Tory Verdi said. “Teams are going to double team her and that’s great. We took advantage of it.”
That set up Sydney Taylor, who splashed a long go-ahead 3-pointer with 29 seconds to halftime.
The burst washed out a poor start and set the Minutewomen up for a stronger second half in a 78-62 victory. UMass (10-2, 6-1 Atlantic 10) outscored Saint Louis 46-31 after halftime to secure its fourth straight win. The Minutewomen hadn’t beaten the Billikens in St. Louis since 2010. It’s UMass’ best start since the 1970’s, and the Minutewomen gripped the No. 2 spot in the conference standings tighter.
“We can really play with anyone, we can beat anyone and knowing that and having that mentality,” Breen said. “Even we get down, we don’t really have quit in us.”
Taylor continued what Breen started in the second half. She scored 13 of her game-high 18 points after halftime, making 80 percent of her shots in the second half. The only 3 she hit was to end the first half.
“I wouldn’t say she’s one dimensional and just a 3-point shooter. We’re going to put her in situations where she’s going to be able to attack downhill and get to the basket,” Verdi said. “She does not hesitate, and those are the things that I love about her. When she gets it going it becomes infections and I feel it started to spread in the second half.”
UMass scored six of the second half’s first eight points to build a five-point lead in the frame’s first 90 seconds. The Billikens (2-2, 0-2 A-10) reclaimed the lead on a Myia Clark 3-pointer with 5:40 left, but that was their last advantage.
The Minutewomen ripped off nine straight points and pulled away. Taylor scored five of those points.
“She’s tough to guard,” Breen said.
Junior guard Destiney Philoxy took the reins for the fourth quarter. She scored 10 of her 14 points in the final frame and finished with six assists, four rebounds, drawing two charges.
“I thought Destiney Philoxy really took over, leadership-wise,” Verdi said. “She started to get downhill and get to the rim and the free throw line.”
Philoxy and freshman Ber’Nyah Mayo held Billikens leading scorer Ciaja Harbison, who was averaging neraly 18 poitns per game, to just six points and 2-of-11 shooting. Harbison missed all five 3-pointers she attempted.
“We did a great job containing her,” Verdi said. “We forcer her to take perimeter shots, and she missed them.”
UMass also outrebounded Saint Louis 44-42, a feat against the conference’s top team on the boards. It wasn’t the case through the first 14 minutes, though. The Billikens held a 30-24 edge on the boards when Verdi called a timeout with six minutes to halftime.
“That’s a whole sense of urgency thing. I challenged our team. We weren’t being systematic and playing that way we’re capable of playing,” he said. “That’s just a ‘want to’ thing.”
The Minutewomen wanted to. They had a seven-board advantage over the game’s final 26 minutes. Breen led the team with 13 and scored 13 points to go along with four assists. Six of her rebounds were on the offensive glass.
“Those efforts are the difference of you putting yourself in a position to play for a championship,” Verdi said. “When we do that and we find that consistency we’re going to put ourselves in a position to do something really special.”
They’ll try to do it all again Sunday. UMass has a rematch with the Billikens at 3 p.m. back in Chaifetz Arena on ESPN+.
“Today was a huge win for us, celebrate the rest of the day then get back at it and be ready for Sunday,” Breen said. “We’re acknowledging this win, but we know we have to get back and have a game plan and a strategy for Sunday, as well, hopefully get another dub and be able to celebrate at home.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.