AMHERST – Fans might have worried that the UMass women’s basketball team would have a celebration hangover after Thursday’s 78-57 blowout victory over Rhode Island. 

There was nothing to worry about on Sunday afternoon however. The Minutewomen put together a dominant effort against Atlantic-10 opponent Davidson in a 78-64 win at the Mullins Center.

The win set a new program record for most consecutive wins, extending the current streak to 12 games. UMass improved to 23-4 overall, 13-1 in the A-10.

“There's a few games that we definitely didn't play our best, but we found a way to win. I think we're old enough and experienced enough to figure that out,” UMass’ Sam Breen said. “Even if we don't play our best, (we) haven't really ended up in the loss column too much... we're just figuring out ways to win.”

Besides setting a new program winning streak record, Sunday's game set the table for a couple more historic milestones coming up. Breen scored 22 points, coming just two shy from setting a record for career points (that record would include the 44 points she scored while at Penn State). She’s also all but guaranteed to set the program record for most points scored while in a UMass uniform. Sue Peters holds the current record for both with 1,858 points, and she was in attendance on Sunday hoping to see Breen accomplish the feat.

There’s also another connection between the two icons – the basketball team has a mentorship program, pairing UMass alumnae with current players, and Breen was paired with Peters. The two have stayed in contact this season, mostly via email. 

“I was hoping she would do it today while I was here. I thought that would be really apropos,” Peters said. “But she’s a hard worker, she deserves nothing but the best. I’m looking forward to her getting it.” 

Also on milestone watch is head coach Tory Verdi, who is one win away from earning his 200th career win as a collegiate head coach. Sunday’s game was also Sydney Taylor’s 100th career game in a Minutewomen uniform.  

It’s seemed like every other game this season, someone else on UMass is setting a new record or hitting a milestone. It’s been fulfilling for Verdi to see, especially considering where the program was when he first accepted the head coaching job. 

“I'm proud. Seven years ago when I took over this program, we were trying to sell it and we didn't have that. We didn’t have that tradition, we didn't have that history. Now we do. Now we could tell our story,” Verdi said. “I knew it would happen. Many old people didn't believe that, but I knew it was gonna happen. It starts with me. And now it's here, and now that these milestones are coming quite frequently – a lot of satisfaction. A lot.” 

Breen picked up a double-double, adding 11 rebounds to her team-high 22 points, and Taylor also cracked the 20-point plateau, sinking 20 points and adding four assists. Angelique Ngalakulondi and Ber’Nyah Mayo both scored 11 points, and Destiney Philoxy finished with seven assists. 

After a back-and-forth start, the Minutewomen went on an 8-0 run to jump out to a 16-9 lead, and they were able to sustain that gap through the end of the first period, leading 24-15 after 10 minutes. 

The game was all but over by halftime, with UMass up 41-27 going into the mid-game break. Davidson sank four triples in the second to stay within range, but the Wildcats (12-14) simply could not slow down UMass’ offensive firepower.

There wasn’t anything in particular that Davidson did poorly – the visitors kept up with UMass on the boards, though UMass did swarm them in the post, outscoring them 46-32 in the paint. They outscored the Minutewomen 21-14 in the final frame, a final flurry where the Minutewomen were trying especially hard to get the ball in Breen’s hands to set the scoring record.

The Minutewomen will hit the road this week, heading over to Saint Louis for a matchup with the Billikens at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night. The regular season finale is scheduled for Feb. 25 against George Washington at the Mullins Center (4 p.m.).

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