# 2023–24 UMass Minutewomen basketball team

The 2023–24 UMass Minutewomen basketball team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Minutewomen, led by first-year head coach Mike Leflar, played their home games at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Massachusetts as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

## Previous season

The Minutewomen finished the 2022–23 season 27–7, 14–2 in A–10 play to finish as Atlantic 10 regular season co-champions, alongside Rhode Island. As the #1 seed in the A–10 tournament, they defeated George Mason and Richmond before falling to #3 seed Saint Louis in the championship game. They received an automatic bid into the WNIT, where they would defeat Albany in the first round, before falling to Harvard in the second round.
On April 6, 2023, head coach Tory Verdi announced that he would be leaving the program to take the head coaching position at Pittsburgh. On April 10, associate head coach Mike Leflar was named the team's next head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 29, 2023* 2:00 pm | | Assumption | W 88–80 | – | – | – | – | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 6:00 pm, NESN+/ESPN+ | | Saint Peter's | W 56–44 | 1–0 | 19 – Williams | 14 – Kulesza | 4 – Bellamy | Mullins Center (1,024) Amherst, MA |
| November 9, 2023* 7:00 pm, NESN+/FloHoops | | at Northeastern | L 74–78 | 1–1 | 15 – Bellamy | 11 – Kulesza | 5 – Williams | Cabot Center (441) Boston, MA |
| November 12, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Maine | L 48–69 | 1–2 | 15 – Kulesza | 6 – Bellamy | 2 – 2 Tied | Memorial Gymnasium (993) Orono, ME |
| November 16, 2023* 6:00 pm, NESN+/ESPN+ | | Harvard | L 57–78 | 1–3 | 16 – Williams | 10 – Kulesza | 4 – Hyduke | Mullins Center (984) Amherst, MA |
| November 19, 2023* 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Monmouth | L 62–74 | 1–4 | 19 – Kulesza | 7 – Bellamy | 4 – 2 Tied | OceanFirst Bank Center (601) West Long Branch, NJ |
| November 23, 2023* 1:30 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Green Bay Cancún Challenge Mayan Tournament | L 52–85 | 1–5 | 11 – Kulesza | 7 – Kulesza | 7 – Hyduke | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (200) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 24, 2023* 11:00 am, FloHoops | | vs. No. 23 Washington State Cancún Challenge Mayan Tournament | L 48–90 | 1–6 | 20 – Kulesza | 11 – Kulesza | 3 – Ferguson | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (71) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 25, 2023* 11:00 am, FloHoops | | vs. Maryland Cancún Challenge Mayan Tournament | L 63–92 | 1–7 | 14 – 2 Tied | 6 – 2 Tied | 6 – Hyduke | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (107) Cancún, Mexico |
| December 1, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Yale | L 62–70 | 1–8 | 13 – Taulelei | 5 – 2 Tied | 4 – Hyduke | John J. Lee Amphitheater (324) New Haven, CT |
| December 6, 2023* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | | at Boston College | L 57–95 | 1–9 | 14 – Mapp | 7 – Kulesza | 3 – 2 Tied | Conte Forum (536) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| December 10, 2023* 12:00 pm, NESN/ESPN+ | | UMass Lowell | W 64–52 | 2–9 | 19 – Williams | 14 – Kulesza | 5 – Kulesza | Mullins Center (1,111) Amherst, MA |
| December 20, 2023* 12:00 pm, NESN+/ESPN+ | | Albany | L 52–74 | 2–10 | 14 – Williams | 9 – Kulesza | 3 – 2 Tied | Mullins Center (1,255) Amherst, MA |
| A-10 regular season |||||||||
| December 30, 2023 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at VCU | L 45–65 | 2–11 (0–1) | 8 – 2 Tied | 6 – Kulesza | 3 – Taulelei | Siegel Center (1,014) Richmond, VA |
| January 2, 2024 5:00 pm, NESN+/ESPN+ | | Dayton | W 76–66 | 3–11 (1–1) | 15 – Williams | 8 – Kulesza | 6 – Bellamy | Mullins Center (752) Amherst, MA |
| January 6, 2024 1:00 pm, NESN+/ESPN+ | | Saint Louis | L 75–79 | 3–12 (1–2) | 18 – 2 Tied | 6 – Kulesza | 9 – Rose | Mullins Center (955) Amherst, MA |
| January 10, 2024 11:00 am, ESPN+ | | at Richmond | L 65–79 | 3–13 (1–3) | 19 – Williams | 8 – Kulesza | 4 – Rose | Robins Center (1,904) Richmond, VA |
| January 13, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at La Salle | L 64–70 | 3–14 (1–4) | 14 – Bellamy | 10 – Odenigbo | 4 – 2 Tied | Tom Gola Arena (1,647) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 17, 2024 6:00 pm, NESN/ESPN+ | | Loyola Chicago | L 66–79 | 3–15 (1–5) | 17 – Kulesza | 6 – Kulesza | 7 – Rose | Mullins Center (835) Amherst, MA |
| January 21, 2024 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | George Mason | L 52–73 | 3–16 (1–6) | 20 – Williams | 6 – Kulesza | 5 – 2 Tied | Mullins Center (1,485) Amherst, MA |
| January 24, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Davidson | L 42–72 | 3–17 (1–7) | 13 – Williams | 6 – Odenigbo | 3 – Rose | John M. Belk Arena (713) Davidson, NC |
| January 27, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Rhode Island | L 48–63 | 3–18 (1–8) | 15 – Kulesza | 6 – Kulesza | 2 – 2 Tied | Ryan Center (1,674) Kingston, RI |
| January 31, 2024 11:00 am, NESN/ESPN+ | | La Salle | L 61–63 | 3–19 (1–9) | 18 – Rose | 6 – 2 Tied | 3 – 2 Tied | Mullins Center (3,069) Amherst, MA |
| February 3, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Saint Joseph's | L 67–77 | 3–20 (1–10) | 22 – Rose | 5 – Bellamy | 4 – Rose | Hagan Arena (707) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 7, 2024 6:00 pm, NESN/ESPN+ | | Duquesne | L 62–79 | 3–21 (1–11) | 23 – Rose | 6 – Kulesza | 5 – Rose | Mullins Center (950) Amherst, MA |
| February 10, 2024 2:00 pm, SNY/ESPN+ | | at Fordham | L 50–64 | 3–22 (1–12) | 17 – Williams | 5 – Bellamy | 2 – 2 Tied | Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,168) Bronx, NY |
| February 14, 2024 6:00 pm, NESN/ESPN+ | | Rhode Island | L 64–86 | 3–23 (1–13) | 15 – Willams | 4 – 2 Tied | 8 – Rose | Mullins Center (815) Amherst, MA |
| February 17, 2024 1:00 pm, NESN+/ESPN+ | | VCU | L 49–63 | 3–24 (1–14) | 13 – Kulesza | 10 – Taulele | 3 – 3 Tied | Mullins Center (1,241) Amherst, MA |
| February 21, 2024 7:00 pm, NBC Sports App | | at Loyola Chicago | L 52–64 | 3–25 (1–15) | 14 – Kulesza | 5 – 3 Tied | 5 – Hyduke | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (522) Chicago, IL |
| February 24, 2024 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at George Washington | L 55–59 | 3–26 (1–16) | 16 – Kulesza | 8 – Kulesza | 3 – Rose | Charles E. Smith Center (405) Washington, D.C. |
| February 28, 2024 6:00 pm, NESN+/ESPN+ | | St. Bonaventure | W 58–45 | 4–26 (2–16) | 21 – Williams | 9 – Kulesza | 3 – 2 Tied | Mullins Center (1,220) Amherst, MA |
| A-10 tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2024 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | (13) | vs. (12) La Salle First Round | W 54–49 | 5–26 | 14 – Hyduke | 13 – Kulesza | 2 – 2 Tied | Henrico Sports & Events Center Henrico, VA |
| March 7, 2024 1:30 pm, ESPN+ | (13) | vs. (5) Duquesne Second Round | L 57–81 | 5–27 | 11 – 2 Tied | 5 – Kulesza | 2 – 4 Tied | Henrico Sports & Events Center (2,270) Henrico, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Sources: