The home stretch is upon the UMass women’s basketball team.

After Sunday’s victory over Davidson before a crowd of more than 2,000 fans at the Mullins Center, the Minutewomen (23-4, 13-1 Atlantic 10) have just two regular season games remaining before the Atlantic-10 Tournament begins on March 1.

UMass, which has won a program-record 12 games in a row, plays a true road game for the final time on Wednesday night, when it travels to Saint Louis for an 8 p.m. contest (ESPN-Plus).

The Billikens (12-17, 8-6), which are locked in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Atlantic 10 with Saint Joseph’s and Fordham, are one of the hottest teams in the league. They’ve won six of their last seven games overall, and have played well at home to the tune of five straight victories inside Chaifetz Arena. Most recently, they rallied from a halftime deficit to beat La Salle on Sunday, 74-63, while celebrating Senior Day.

Something has to give in Wednesday’s game. UMass leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring, as the Minutewomen pour in 75.7 points per game, while Saint Louis allows the most points in the league at 70.8 per outing.

Last season, the Minutewomen held on for a tight 69-66 victory at the Mullins Center, and the teams split a pair of games during the 2020-21 season – both at Saint Louis.

To slow down the Billikens, UMass will have to limit Kyla McMakin. The 5-foot-11 senior guard is fourth in the A-10 in scoring at 17.4 points per game, and she’s made at least one 3-pointer in all but three games this season. The Minutewomen haven’t seen McMakin before, as she transferred from Longwood prior to this season.

While McMakin is Saint Louis’ scoring threat, the club has two of the top 10 rebounders in the league in Brooke Flowers (fifth, 8.9 per game) and Julia Martinez (10th, 7.9).

UMass forward Sam Breen ranks third in scoring (17.5 ppg) and first in rebounding (10.1) in the A-10, and she remains in striking distance of setting the program’s all-time scoring record. Sue Peters, who was in attendance for Sunday’s game against Davidson, holds the current scoring mark at 1,858 points. Breen has 1,857 points between her time at Penn State (44 points scored there) and UMass (1,813).

UMass and Rhode Island, which split their two meetings of the year, remain tied for first place in the league with 13-1 records. The Rams travel to Fordham on Wednesday before closing with a home game against Dayton on Saturday.

SENIOR SATURDAY – The Minutewomen will follow their trip to Saint Louis with their final home game of the season on Saturday at 4 p.m. against third-place George Washington (17-10, 9-5).

Saturday’s game will feature Senior Day festivities prior to the contest, where Breen and Destiney Philoxy will be honored. The school is offering several promotions to get fans and students in the building, including a pregame DJ, concession specials (Sam Breen’s Vegan Nachos and Destiney Philoxy’s Mac & Cheese), and giveaways including a PS5 and AirPod Max.

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