Although exhibition games mean nothing for a team's record, it's a good gauge of how a team is performing at that point in time. After one game, the Massachusetts women's basketball team has shown that its new style of play can be effective.
Senior captain Stefanie Gerardot and sophomores Cerie Mosgrove and Teya Wright starred in the Minutewomen's 75-44 rout of Bishop's University Friday night at the Mullins Center. Both Gerardot and Mosgrove had 20 points, while Wright had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
UMass went on a 21-2 run in the first half and never relinquished the lead. The new dribble-drive motion offense kept Bishop's off-balance for the entire night and while the starting guards were the high-scorers for the Minutewomen, most of the scoring was done in the paint.
The Minutewomen totaled 38 points in the paint and controlled the offensive glass to get 19 second-chance points, to the Gaiters' three. And Bishop's had no answer to the speed of UMass. The Minutewomen scored 15 fast-break points by game's end.
While the Gaiters were blown out by 31 points, UMass coach Marnie Dacko gave her team a C-plus on the overall effort.
"I would like to see us be more on the attack," Dacko said. "I would also like to see us establish ourselves and gain confidence but all-in-all, I thought it was a good start to an exhibition game."
Dacko's main focus coming into the game was to shutdown Gaiters 6-foot-4 center Amanda Piribauer. Wright held Piribauer to 10 points and the UMass defense prevented her from scoring anything from 3-point range.
Bishop's was expected to excel from beyond the arc but they were held to just 28 percent throughout the game.
Mosgrove shot 50 percent from 3-point range, going 6-of-12 on the night. She had 14 points - including four 3-pointers - in the first half alone. She also pitched in on defense as well, grabbing five defensive rebounds and one steal, which led to a Wright jumper.
The high-energy defense of the Minutewomen constantly caught Bishop's off-guard, leading to 17 steals, four of which came from redshirt sophomore guard Diatiema Hill. In her first game back since missing all of last season due to a torn ACL, Hill recorded six points, three rebounds and three assists.
The defense of the Gaiters was ineffective in taking control of the game at any point, getting only one of their four steals in the first half. Bishop's only defensive help came from the team's six blocks.
Even with little defensive pressure, UMass had 21 turnovers, 13 of which came in the second half. The Minutewomen, at times, seemed to rush their plays and not capitalize on easy buckets.
However, UMass' 19 assists are proof that it can move the ball around and find the open shooter, which, in this case, was usually Mosgrove.
"We had a pretty good idea of what [plays] to run against this team," Mosgrove said. "We played to their weaknesses and a lot of the time I had a bigger girl guarding me and they wouldn't necessarily [defend] me all the way so there were a lot of open looks and we were moving the ball around really well."
Senior point guard Sakera Young came off the bench to add four assists and two steals for the Minutewomen and freshman center Nicole Jones finished her first collegiate game with six points and a block.
UMass begins its regular season on Friday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. on the road against Vermont. Its home opener is Sunday against Manhattan at 2 p.m.
Mike Gillmeister can be reached at mgillmei@student.umass.edu.
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