Tonight’s matchup between the Patriots (4-1) and UMass(1-5) would seem on paper to be another blowout, but it was anything but the sort at the Patriot Center.
The crowd inside the Patriot Center was a little taken aback because for the first time in quite a while, Amber Easter was missing from the starting lineup. It wasn’t for a lack of production, as Amber has averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds per contest this year, but for the injury she acquired during the blowout win against UNC-Ashville last week. It was in that same game though; we saw the star potential in sophomore guard Christine Weithman who dropped 22 points off the bench. Sources tell us that Easter’s injury isn’t too serious, and she is no longer in a walking boot. But the play of Weithman gave the Patriots hope of added production off the bench. In tonight’s matchup against the Minuetwoman, in which Coach Porter gave Weithman her first career start, it wasn’t the case.
The game once again fell on the shoulders of potential “CAA Player of the Year” Taleia Moton who finished the game with 32 points, 13 of 22 from the field, to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Weithman was unable to get back the stroke she had last Sunday, finishing with just 6 points on 2 of 6 from beyond the 3-point line. Despite the lack of production, she still played 29 minutes, and commanded a lot of respect from the UMass defenders who face guarded her all night. This really opened up the game for Moton, who was given a lot of 1-on-1 matchups and she easily took advantage of them.
This was a night where, to be truthful, Taleia honestly had to “Tebow” her team to victory. The bench was given time to play on the court, with 4 players getting 37 minutes. But the production was weak, with the bench only producing 5 points over that time period. Joyous Tharrington played extremely hard when she was put into the game, getting 2 rebounds and 4 points, but the Patriots will need more production from her and the rest of the bench for the team to be successful in the CAA.
Mason, though at times was getting dominated in the paint, still was able to win the rebounding battle by a margin of 39-37. And a key to winning this game was going to be creating turnovers and getting steals, and Mason won both those battles 12-14 and 8-4 respectively.
Mason is off to their hottest start of the season at 5-1, and is the best start to a campaign since 2000-2001. The Patriots will open up CAA play this Sunday at home against rival ODU. They will face one of the top forwards in the conference in Tia Lewis, who is averaging 16 ppg. If the defensive play of Evelyn Lewis and Jannaa Pickard does not improve from tonight’s performance, the Monarchs may be in for a big night scoring within the paint.
Tip is set for 2pm Sunday, at the Patriot Center. Listen here for Coach Porters post-game comments following the close win over UMass.
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