DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team let a 15-point lead slip to three, but the defense stepped up at the right time to hold off Bridgewater State, on its way to an 82-71 victory at the Tripp Athletic Center Tuesday night.
Senior
Jordan Moretti led the Corsairs (6-2) with 17 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Senior
Shaelyn Carreiro finished with 16 points and nine boards, while sophomore
Faye Veilleux made her season debut and notched 11 points with four rebounds off the bench. Seniors
Jessica Carroll and
Caroline Wilson along with sophomore
Kaylin Zalewski, who also played in her first game this year, each recorded eight points, while sophomore
Teja Andrews had seven points, five assists and three rebounds.
UMass Dartmouth scored 40 points in the paint and 30 off of turnovers. The Corsairs also made 22 free throws.
Junior Sophia Gaucher led the Bears (5-3) with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Wilson drilled a 3-pointer to start things off, but it was the Bears who would eventually take control in the first. A triple put Bridgewater State on top, 13-7, with 4:43 on the clock, until a 6-0 run with paint points by 5th-year senior
Meagan Donovan and sophomore
Jemima Joseph cut it to a 13-12 game. The Bears then closed the quarter on a 7-1 run to take a 20-14 lead after one.
Carreiro knocked down a three to begin the second and a pair of and-1's by Moretti and Zalewski, followed by another Carreiro bucket, gave the Corsairs a 27-26 advantage with 7:20 on the clock. UMassD extended the lead with defense leading to offense as steals led to a fastbreak layup by Andrews and a 3-ball from Carroll. Another three by Donovan, five straight points from Moretti, and a pair at the line by Carroll made it a 46-33 halftime lead.
The Corsairs paced the majority of the third. 3-pointers by Carroll and Wilson, and layups from Carreiro and Veilleux extended the advantage to 15 points, 59-44, with 1:52 left in the quarter. Bridgewater State gained momentum with five-straight points to make it a 59-49 game heading to the fourth.
A Bridgewater 3-pointer capped off a 14-7 run to cut the Corsair lead to 66-63 with 4:34 to go. Zalewski then made a layup, and Veilleux converted a big and-1 and made two more baskets in the final minutes to put the game away.
UMass Dartmouth faces No. 16 Tufts on Saturday at 1 p.m. in its final non-conference game of the regular season.
