Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – A 25-point first quarter was all that the No. 3-seeded University of Massachusetts Dartmouth needed on Tuesday, building a wide enough margin to outlast No. 6 seed UMass Boston 67-52 in the Little East Conference Tournament quarterfinals at the Tripp Athletic Center.
The Basics
Score: UMass Dartmouth 67, UMass Boston 52
Records: UMass Dartmouth (22-4, 11-3 LEC) | UMass Boston (9-17, 5-9 LEC)
How it Happened
The Corsairs never trailed, pounding the ball inside from the get-go to hold a double-digit lead before the end of the opening frame. Junior Alicia Kutil (Franklin, Mass.) secured a put-back layup for the opening basket, beginning a 12-2 streak for her squad.
UMass Boston's Alecia Quinones (Stoughton, Mass.) registered back-to-back buckets with half a minute left in the stanza to edge the Beacons within 10, but junior Leah Douty (Framingham, Mass.) launched a shot from just inside half-court at the buzzer to extend UMass Dartmouth's advantage back to 13. Midway through the second, UMass Dartmouth's lead grew to as much as 18 and a last-second foul shot by LeiAndra Busby (Brockton, Mass.) stamped the score at 42-25 heading to half.
The Beacons challenged in the second half, putting forth their best shooting percentage in the fourth quarter and a 12-3 run to start the final 10 minutes. After Chantel Jordan (Brockton, Mass.) sunk two foul shots at 5:03, Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.) notched a fast-break layup after a steal on the corresponding in-bound. With the margin at 60-48, the Corsairs then immediately subdued the visitors with an 8-1 stretch including three points each by Chelsea Houlihan (Wolcott, Conn.) and Danyel Gonzalez (Providence, R.I.).
Inside the Numbers
- UMass Dartmouth advances to the LEC semifinal round for the third-straight season and improve to 3-1 all-time against UMass Boston in the league tournament.
- Houlihan and Kutil both posted 15 points to tie for the game-high and seven rebounds apiece. Houlihan reaches a season-high with the total including a 5-for-5 performance from the foul line.
- Sophomore Nakira Examond (New Bedford, Mass.) was the game's top rebounder, grabbing 14 boards to go along with 10 points for her 11th double-double on the season.
- McCarron rounded out the four of five Corsair starters in double-figures at 12 points and seven rebounds.
- UMass Dartmouth outrebounded UMass Boston 56-38 on the contest while registering 44 points in the paint to the Beacons' 20, holding them to just 26 percent (18-of-67) from the field on the night.
- Quinones was the only Beacon to reach double-figures at 13 points while adding eight boards.
- The Corsairs end UMass Boston's season with their fourth-straight victory over their in-state rivals.
Up Next
UMass Dartmouth travels to top-seeded Eastern Connecticut on Saturday for its semifinal match-up with No. 2 Keene State at 7:30 p.m. The Corsairs previously defeated the Owls 65-56 in their last meeting on Jan. 21. The winner will advance to the LEC Championship game on Sunday, facing the winner the second semifinal between ECSU and No. 4 Western Connecticut.
