Harris' Eighth Double-Double Leads XU to 75-67 Win at UMass
Feb. 18, 2007
CINCINNATI - Freshman forward Amber Harris and senior center DeAnna Mason each posted double-doubles to lead the Musketeers to a 75-67 victory over Massachusetts on Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center in Amherst. With the win, Xavier improves to 21-7 on the year and 9-3 in Atlantic 10 action. The Minutewomen slip to 15-12 overall, 5-7 in the loop. Harris scored a team-high 18 points and recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 14 rebounds. Harris' 18 came on 8-of-20 shooting and she also swatted a game-high five shots. Mason scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and nine of her 10 rebounds came on the offensive glass. Classmate Suntana Granderson scored 16 points and was 4-of-9 from long-range including a clutch trey with 1:30 remaining in the contest. Senior guard Michele Miller added 14 points and tied a career high with four 3-pointers. XU led 41-32 at the break but UMass quickly tied the game at 44 with 16:20 left in regulation. The Minutewomen would claim their first lead of the game after Kim Benton connected on a pair of 3-pointers to give UMass a 54-53 edge with 10:40 to go. Kate Mills gave the Minutewomen their largest lead of the game, 58-55, to cap a 12-4 run at the 8:20 mark. However, Mason came up big with a pair of second-chance buckets as XU reclaimed a 63-61 lead with under five-minutes to go. Mason's lay-ups came in the midst of a decisive 11-0 XU run, which gave XU a 68-61 lead with 3:40 to go. Mills buried a pair of free throws at 2:40, whittling the lead down to 68-65 but Granderson drilled her fourth 3-pointer of the game on Xavier's ensuing possession to seal the win. Xavier won the battle of the boards by a 41-to-39 margin and held a 17-to-13 edge on the offensive glass. The Musketeers took control of the ball, committing only 10 turnovers and held a 19-to-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Mills led the way for UMass with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Xavier stormed out of the gate and opened up a 12-2 lead after Granderson buried a 3-pointer with 18 minutes remaining in the first half. The long-ball was Granderson's second of the contest and Mason scored the game's first four points to get XU off on the right foot. Xavier would extend its lead to 17 points, 35-18, when Harris nailed a pull-up jumper with nine-minute remaining in the first session. The Minutewomen would respond with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to pull within 10 points, 37-27, with six minutes remaining in the half. The Musketeers would hold off UMass for the remainder of the stanza and led 41-32 at the break. The Musketeers will return to the hardwood on Thursday, February 22 when the team welcomes Fordham to Cintas Center for a 12 p.m. tip. The contest will mark XU's third-annual youth day. |
