Box Score GORHAM, Maine – Senior Beth Castantini (Newburyport, Mass.) registered a game-high 20 points, including seven-straight for the Corsairs in overtime, leading No. 5 seed UMass Dartmouth women's basketball past No. 4 seed Southern Maine in extra minutes on Tuesday, 61-58.
UMass Dartmouth (18-8 overall) advances to the semifinals of the 2016 Little East Conference Tournament for the second-straight year with the win, and will meet top-seeded Eastern Connecticut on Friday. Tuesday marks only the second time in program history the Corsairs have prevailed on Southern Maine's floor as UMass Dartmouth is now 4-1 in overtime games on the season.
Castantini reached her total on 7-of-19 shooting, including a 4-of-9 performance from beyond the arc, while bringing down six rebounds. Leading the Corsairs on the boards was junior Megan Ronaghan (North Attleboro, Mass.), grabbing eight rebounds to go along with 17 points.
The Huskies were paced by three in double-figures, all seniors. Gretchen Anderson (Kittery Point, Maine) registered a season-high 17 points while grabbing 15 rebounds to lead Southern Maine, as classmates Ella Ramonas (Portland, Maine) and Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine) added 16 and 10 points, respectively.
The Corsairs got off to a slow start in the first half, shooting only 28 percent and getting to the foul line just twice. After going down three with four minutes remaining, the Huskies embarked on a 7-0 run to close the first quarter. UMass Dartmouth could then only muster nine points in the second, as Southern Maine took advantage of Corsair foul trouble to up the lead to 27-19 at intermission.
Out of the break, Southern Maine extended its lead by as much as 10, but couldn't shake UMass Dartmouth. The Corsairs began chipping away following five straight points from Castantini at 4:55, eventually slimming the lead to three on a Rachel McCarron (Groton, Mass.) layup.
Castantini opened the fourth quarter with an immediate 3-pointer to tie the game, and McCarron put in a corresponding layup to give UMass Dartmouth its first lead since the opening stanza. Ramonas tied the game at 47 with 2:14 remaining on a 3-pointer, but freshman Nakira Examond (New Bedford, Mass.) gathered a put-back layup at 1:22 to give the visitors the advantage again. That lead held until 18 seconds remained, when Southern Maine's Kayla Stacy (Auburn, N.H.) put in a breakaway layup. Examond saw a close-range chance at the buzzer, but her shot rimmed wide, forcing extra time.
The Corsairs' first three field goals of overtime belonged to Castantini, who recorded seven-straight points for the visitors to keep the game within reach. Following an Anderson 3-pointer to tie the score at 58, Ronaghan nailed a mid-range jumper on the Castantini assist with 21 seconds left. With Southern Maine forced to foul, Ronaghan hit a free throw with three seconds left and the Huskies last-ditch bucket fell short at the buzzer.
Southern Maine closes the season at 14-12 with an 8-6 LEC mark. Eastern Connecticut will host both the LEC semifinals and Championship game this coming weekend.
