Box Score
DARTMOUTH, Mass. – UMass Dartmouth women's basketball used a 6-of-6 free throw shooting performance in the final 23 seconds to cement a hard-fought Little East conference win on Saturday, handing Keene State only its second loss of the season by a 60-56 score.
The contest marks only the seventh win in program history for the Corsairs over the Owls, and gives UMass Dartmouth (10-6, 3-4 LEC) the season-split with Keene State. The Owls, now 15-2 overall and 5-2 in the LEC, have consistently received votes in the national polls this season. UMass Dartmouth has now won three-straight.
Junior Megan Ronaghan (North Attleboro, Mass.) led all scorers on the night with 17, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line with all coming in the second half. Classmate Rachel McCarron (Groton, Mass.) added a career-high 14 points, while seniors Colleen Kane (Arlington, Mass.) and Beth Castantini (Newburyport, Mass.) each turned in 10 points. Castantini paced the Corsairs with seven boards.
For the Owls, junior Sarah Kober (Easthampton, Mass.) led her squad with 11 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Sandi Purcell (Hudson, N.H.) added 10 points.
Keene State jumped out to an early lead, topping out at six points halfway through the first quarter. A three-pointer from Kane capped a 7-0 run for the Corsairs to eliminate the Owls' lead to close the quarter and both teams turned in 12 points in the first stanza.
UMass Dartmouth was able to keep the contest close throughout the second quarter. The Owls led by as much as four following a long-range bucket from Purcell with 4:31 left, and despite the Corsairs battling back to a tie score, a pair of foul shots from Stephanie D'Annolfo (Tyngsboro, Mass.) put the Owl advantage back at four, 28-24, at halftime.
Using nine bench points in the third quarter, the Corsairs were able to slowly chip away leading into the final three minutes of the period. Back-to-back behind the arc shots from senior Marisa McCabe (Cedar Grove, N.J.) and Kane broke a tie score to put the hosts up six.
Keene State cut that lead in half to close the quarter, but UMass Dartmouth would remain in control for the rest of the contest. Seven straight Corsair points from Ronaghan put the advantage up to eight at the 3:25 mark. Two clutch Keene State three-pointers were able to bring the visitors within one possession final three seconds, but Castantini converted at the foul line directly following the inbound to clinch the four-point win.
Both squads will stick with LEC opponents next Wednesday, as the Corsairs host UMass Boston for the first meeting with the Beacons this season at 5:30 p.m. Keene State will face a challenge as they travel to current league leader Eastern Connecticut at the same time.
