Box Score BOSTON, Mass. -- Junior Jalani Jackson (Brockton, Mass.) scored 24 points and dished out five assists, as UMass Boston scored seven of the game's final nine points to break a 58-58 deadlock to notch a 65-60 Little East Conference women's basketball victory over UMass Dartmouth Wednesday evening at the Clark Athletic Center.
The host Beacons (18-6, 9-6 LEC) overcame an eight-point second quarter deficit (20-12) with a 10-0 run capped by Jackson's three-pointer to grab a 22-20 edge with 6:42 remaining in the half, and UMass Boston built that lead to four points before the visiting Corsairs (14-10, 9-6 LEC) scored eight of the final 10 points of the frame to take a 33-31 advantage at the break on a pair of free throws by sophomore Jessica Carroll (Deep River, Conn.). The hosts took a pair of five-point leads in the third stanza before UMass Dartmouth cut its deficit to a single point (53-52) entering the final 10 minutes of play, and the lead changed hands three times before Carroll's lay-in with 6:08 remaining knotted matters at 58.
That score held up for the ensuing three minutes after the squads combined for nine misses from the field and foul line, but the Beacons used four free throws from junior Geanna Williams (Cromwell, Conn.) to take a 62-58 edge with 1:56 to play. Sophomore Jordan Moretti (Johnston, R.I.) converted two from the charity stripe to cut the Corsair deficit to a bucket, but that would prove to be the visitors' last points of the contest, as a Williams jumper and a Jackson free throw in the closing 64 seconds of action accounted for the final margin.
Junior Tahjai Mazyck (Hamden, Conn.) joined Jackson in double figures with 13 points in the triumph for UMass Boston, which received eight points from Williams along with a game-high 16 rebounds from junior Joie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.). The Beacons shot 35 percent (23-66) from the field and held a 21-6 scoring advantage from behind the arc on the night, as the hosts used a 47-42 rebounding edge to sweep the regular season series between the two schools.
Moretti matched Jackson's scoring total with 24 points, six rebounds and four steals in the setback for UMass Dartmouth, which received 12 points and seven boards from sophomore Shaelyn Carreiro (Fall River, Mass.) along with nine points and five caroms from junior Lauren Empey (Middleboro, Mass.). Senior Kayla McMahon (Hanover, Mass.) added seven points and five rebounds for the Corsairs, who collected 11 boards from senior Ashley Brown (New Bedford, Mass.). The visitors shot 30 percent (18-60) from the floor and held a 22-12 scoring advantage at the foul line for the night in a game that saw the squads combine for 41 fouls.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Southern Maine in its Little East Conference regular season finale on Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center that tips-off at 1:00 pm, while UMass Boston heads to Plymouth, N.H. on Saturday afternoon to square off with Plymouth State in a Little East matchup that also tips-off at 1:00 pm.
