Tag Archives: Aisha Rodney

Mar 2 2013

Halftime thoughts: UMass 27, Xavier 24

 Timbilla in control: Rashida Timbilla played the strongest first half of her teammates in the penultimate game of her freshman campaign. Along with eight points, Timbilla has grabbed eight boards, four on other side of the ball. She is 3-of-8 from the field and added a pair from the line. Furthermore, her three assists also comprise half of the teams dimes and while on defense she has three steals. Her presence in the key on the boards has been a catalyst for the Minutewomen because of Jasmine Watson’s foul trouble.

Foul trouble for the Minutwomen: Jasmine Watson only registered eight minutes in the first twenty, having to come off with two fouls early on. Fortunately, Watson’s absence has not made it hard for the team with Timbilla stepping up and Emily Mital being able to find her shooting touch. Aisha Rodney has also offered up six points and three boards in the Watson’s place. Timbilla is also in trouble with two personal fouls of her own, however her level of play has forced UMass coach Sharon Dawley to keep her on the floor. Watson’s fellow senior teammate Dee Montgomery also has a pair of fouls

Jessica Pachko big for XU: Xavier closed out the half with 24 points, half of which came through their center Jessica Pachko. Her early frustrations resulted in a warning from the refs, but after a brief cooling off period on the bench Pachko has kept the Musketeers competitive in the game. With much of the teams offense running through her, the XU big has showcased her ability to cut sharply in the key to get to the hoop for easy lay ups, while also requiring a defender  down low to free up space in the zone.

Jan 12 2013

Rapid reaction: UMass 62, George Washington 58

Losing streak snapped: Yes, the Minutewomen’s long national nightmare has finally come to an end: UMass women’s basketball snapped it’s 8-game losing streak with today’s ??-?? home win over George Washington. It got rather tense towards the end of regulation as the Minutewomen threatened to give away yet another late lead at home, but, for the first time in seemingly forever, UMass hung on late. Sharon Dawley and her players have preached that the start of the Atlantic 10 Conference schedule represented an opportunity to wipe away the team’s poor start to the season. That certainly seemed to be the case this afternoon, at least for one game.

Rodney perfect off the bench: Dawley has also spoke at length this season about the contributions of Aisha Rodney off the bench. Rodney, who struggled to get back to full strength following a preseason ankle injury, showed exactly what her coach was talking about today, scoring 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting and grabbing five rebounds, including a couple of big offensive boards to keep eventual scoring possessions alive. That kind of efficient production off the bench is invaluable for any team and especially so for a team struggling to put together wins.

Cloutier continues production: The big minutes continue for Carolann Cloutier, who made her first start of the year today, and she responded once more with another solid offensive performance: 13 points, two rebounds and four assists. Two of Cloutier’s field goals were big time 3-point makes that helped spur the Minutewomen into the run that gave them the lead they almost blew late in the game. She also knocked down a clutch free throw late to help ice the win.

Up next: A winning streak, perhaps? The Minutewomen next travel to the Bronx to take on Fordham in another Atlantic 10 matchup. That game will be played Wednesday at 7 p.m.

 

Nov 18 2012

Halftime thoughts: Notre Dame 53, UMass 19

Notre Dame 53, UMass 19

  • No surprise: It was pretty clear coming into today’s game with the 7th ranked women’s basketball team in the nation that it would not be smooth sailing for UMass. That may have been an understatement. Twenty minutes, 20 turnovers and 9-of-24 shooting later, and the Minutewomen trail heavily favored Notre Dame 53-19. Fighting Irish Muffet McGraw was already starting to limit her starters’ minutes in the first half, and I’m sure we’ll see more of that after the break.
  • Persistant problems: The two biggest knocks against UMass so far this season have been excessive turnovers and poor free throw shooting. Those issues haven’t gone away today. As mentioned above, the Minutewomen have committed 20 turnovers in 20 minutes—that’s a turnover a minute. That’ll have Sharon Dawley pulling her hair out. UMass entered the game shooting 58% from the line, but that number will have dropped after an 0-of-4 free throw shooting performance in the first half.
  • Rodney stepping up: Sophomore Aisha Rodney put together an excellent game against Quinnipiac last time out (12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 18 minutes) and the momentum seems to have carried all the way out to South Bend. Rodney leads UMass with six points on 3-of-4 shooting while also contributing two rebounds, two steals and a block. If Rodney can develop into another legitimate scoring threat after averaging only 3.8 ppg in 2011-12 it would a major boost for the Minutewomen.
  • Skylar is for real: Notre Dame star player Skylar Diggins was named on all 40 of the AP pre-season All-American ballots and its easy to see why: seven points, six assists, three steals and a block. She’ll likely get some rest in the second half.