Minutewoman hoop team awaits No. 8 Xavier
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AMHERST - By this summer, Amber Harris and Ta'Shia Phillips will almost certainly be in the WNBA. But on Sunday, the senior duo at Xavier will be the University of Massachusetts women's basketball team's problem and they figure to be a handful.
Harris and Phillips will lead No. 8 Xavier (13-2, 2-0 A-10) against the Minutewomen (5-12, 1-1) at 1 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
Harris is an All-America candidate and a nominee for national player of the year. The 6-foot-5 forward is averaging 19.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game and has blocked 35 shots so far this year. Phillips is 6-foot-6 and averages 14.0 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. Few teams in the nation can match their size or their ability.
"It's impossible to simulate what we're going to see," UMass coach Sharon Dawley said. "We're hoping we can make them try to beat us from the perimeter instead of killing us in the lane."
UMass sophomore center Jasmine Watson, the team's tallest player at 6-foot-3, was expecting quite the challenge.
"They're the biggest team we have in our conference," said Watson, who leads UMass with 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. "They're two of the greatest players in the country right now. It's definitely a challenge for us. We're willing to step up and take it."
Xavier is the highest ranked opponent to come to the Mullins Center since No. 5 Georgia visited in 1998. Including an earlier loss to Maryland this season, UMass is 4-71 all-time against ranked teams and just 1-12 against the top 10. However, the Minutewomen are 1-2 all-time against teams ranked No. 8. They beat No. 8 Stanford 65-56 on Nov. 24, 1995.
UMass has lost six straight against ranked opponents. It's last victory was a 55-53 win over No. 25 George Washington on Jan. 22, 2006.
"It's exciting to be able to play a team this good. There's absolutely no pressure on us. I always like to play a game like that," Dawley said. "They have some phenomenal players and they're very well coached. It's a great test to see if we've grown. That's what we're looking at. ... It's good for the whole team to see this is the product of years of (Xavier's) hard work and years in the weight room. Their confidence really shows. I think the whole team will learn a bit on Sunday."
Xavier opened the season with 10 straight wins and was ranked No. 4. The Musketeers dropped back-to-back games to Duke (currently No. 3) and Stanford (currently No. 4) on Dec. 21 and 28 respectively, before bouncing back to win their next three.
Xavier will arrive in Amherst off a 75-54 crushing of Saint Joseph's on Wednesday. It was its eighth win by at least 19 points. Watson hoped the Musketeers might overlook the Minutewomen.
"We hope they take us lightly. There's nothing wrong with being an underdog," Watson said. "Underdogs win games too."
Watson thought the game could make the Minutewomen improve.
"It's something that can get us ready for down the road. This is one of the best teams in our conference. It will give us a bar to set for ourselves," she said. "We know if we can compete with them it will give us something to fight for every game."
NEW ARRIVAL - Marisa Stabile, a 6-foot-0 freshman forward from Lockleys, Australia, practiced with the Minutewomen for the first time Thursday and is eligible right away. Dawley wasn't sure how soon she'd be ready to contribute.
"She's very smart and she's going to pick up things very quickly," Dawley said. "It's hard to tell how soon she'll be ready to be thrown in there."
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
