Story Courtesy of UMass Athletic Communications

AMHERST, Mass. – Leading 10-6 at the half, the Massachusetts women's lacrosse team erased any doubt in the second, outscoring visiting Columbia 5-1 in the third and 5-2 in the fourth for a runaway 20-9 victory on Tuesday afternoon. In the final nonconference game of the season, Katie Peterson tied a career high in goals (4) and points (8). As a team, the Minutewomen had just one first-half turnover and only 11 for the game.

The win marks UMass' seventh straight, improving to 11-2 on the season. The Minutewomen have scored at least 17 goals in all seven contests, eclipsing 20 on four occasions. They have scored 139 goals in that span (19.9) to up their season average to 16.9, second in the nation – only behind North Carolina.

"We were talking about progressing from Saturday with the amount of turnovers and connections all over the field," said head coach Jana Drummond. "I feel like today, we really showed up playing for each other on both ends of the field. Defense would get a stop and we'd push the fast break. We'd win the draw and push the ball, trust each other and trust the ball movement."

Along with Peterson's eight points, Kassidy Morris had seven via five goals and two assists. It marked her seventh straight game with at least six points, coinciding with UMass' win streak. Ava Connaughton added two goals and four assists. Norah Prizzi followed a six-point performance against Akron with four more points Tuesday (three goals, three assists). Dylan Lyons had three goals and an assist, marking her fourth consecutive hat trick and eighth straight multi-goal game.