Things were destined to change for Sam Breen and her University of Massachusetts women’s basketball team.
It was only natural after Breen — the 2022 Atlantic 10 Conference player of the year — led Massachusetts to its first conference tournament championship, the most wins in program history and an NCAA tournament bid a season ago.
“We had almost everyone returning, and then we were picked No. 1 in the [A-10] preseason poll, but we don’t really focus too much on that,” Breen said. “We focus on where we end, knowing we are getting everyone’s best, focusing on being the hunted, not being the hunters.”
So far, Breen and her Massachusetts teammates have worn the targets on their backs well.
A 2017 North Catholic High School graduate, Breen is averaging a team-high 17.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game this season. The sixth-year senior’s scoring average is good for fourth in the Atlantic 10 and 20th among Division I players, while her rebounding average makes her tops in her conference.
With Massachusetts (19-4, 9-1 A-10) currently sitting a game behind Rhode Island (19-3, 10-0) in the conference, Breen is poised to possibly repeat as conference player of the year and lead her team on another deep postseason run.
“I definitely focus on all the little things, being consistent … in practice and in games,” she said. “Whatever individual accomplishments come with that are awesome and amazing.”
Breen currently sits second on Massachusetts’ all-time scoring list. Her 1,742 career points leave her just 116 points behind Sue Peters, who graduated with 1,858 points in 1980.
“She’s a big part of who we are,” said Mike Leflar, Massachusetts associate head coach, who is Breen’s position coach. “Not only is she a big reason for our success, she — in a big way — defines our program, who we want our program to be, what we want our program to look like. She defines all that stuff.
“She’s given us so much,” he added of Breen, who is now third on Massachusetts’ all-time rebounding list with 991. “I hope we’ve given her even close to that in return.”
A 6-foot-1 forward, Breen originally committed to Penn State and was part of the Nittany Lions program for nearly 1½ seasons before transferring to Massachusetts in January 2019. She immediately contributed, averaging a team-high 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds in her first season at Massachusetts in 2019-20, before averaging a team-best 17.3 points and 10.1 rebounds the following season.
“She’s everything you would want in a player from a coach’s perspective,” Leflar said. “She is obviously a fantastic basketball player, but is also a great person, brings all the intangibles in terms of energy every single day.
“She’s our hardest worker every single day and has been for the last 3½ years,” he added. “As a coach you have to really step back and cherish the time you have with student athletes that are like that every single day. You can’t take it for granted.”
And Breen hasn’t taken anything for granted in preparation for her final season in Amherst, Mass. She said she and Leflar have focused on refining her one-on-one offensive game in addition to her ability to find open teammates when double- — and often triple- — team defensive sets have come from opponents.
“I am just finding my open teammates on the perimeter and being sure they’re in my window and then them knocking down shots from that,” Breen said. “Just focusing on that and staying confident.
“I had a little dip earlier in the season where I was just in my head a little bit,” she added. “Working on my confidence with my coaches and my teammates both was super, super important.”
In addition to Breen, Massachusetts has four other players averaging in double figures led by senior guard Sydney Taylor, who is scoring 16.8 points per game, while Ber’Nyah Mayo is pouring in 11.7, Destiney Philoxy 10.6 and Makennah White 10.5.
“This year there’s probably just more of an awareness in how to get her teammates involved,” Leflar said of Breen. “She has done a great job this year balancing that. She is surrounded by talented players. She’s always been unselfish, but now I think that unselfishness is a true strength because she’s getting other people involved at the right times. That’s a maturity thing.”
Such maturity may lead to opportunities to play professionally.
Breen said she plans to weigh her options to play in Europe once her time at Massachusetts is done.
“I definitely do want to play overseas,” Breen said. “That is definitely my main goal. Where that will be I have no idea. I like to travel, so it’s a win-win. Getting to travel and getting to play the sport that I love, that’s one of the things I’m very excited about.”
For his part, Leflar is excited to see what Breen will do with the remainder of her time at Massachusetts.
“She really has taken great pride in UMass and this program,” he said. “For us to call her the best player of all time here, that is well within her reach. If we win back-to-back A-10 championships, that would be three A-10 championship games in three years. Her legacy is already cemented as one of the all-time greats. So, yeah, is she the best player ever to play here? She is definitely in that conversation. I am sure she will attain that.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.