DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Junior
Jordan Moretti (Johnston, R.I.) scored 24 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists to lead three players in double figures, as UMass Dartmouth posted a 70-62 Little East Conference women's basketball victory over Castleton Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center.
The host Corsairs (2-3, 2-2 LEC) eked out a two-point advantage (16-14) after the opening 10 minutes of action and extended that margin to 10 points (31-21) midway through the second stanza on Moretti's lay-in. The visiting Spartans (0-2, 0-2 LEC) clawed their way back to within a bucket (33-31) after sophomore
Elise Magro (Rutland, Vt.) capped a 10-2 run with a three-pointer that came with 46 seconds to play in the half, but Moretti's triple from the top of the key as time expired pushed UMass Dartmouth's edge to five at the break.
After Castleton closed back to within two once again on its opening possession after intermission, the Corsairs rattled off seven straight points to grab a nine-point cushion (43-34) on junior
Jessica Carroll's (Deep River, Conn.) trey with 4:15 remaining in the third stanza. The Spartans answered back with 11 unanswered points of their own to take their final lead of the afternoon (45-43) on senior
Brooke Raiche's (Ira, Vt.) lay-in with 69 seconds to play in the quarter, but two free throws each from junior
Shaelyn Carreiro (Fall River, Mass.) and freshman
Faye Veilleux (Wrentham, Mass.) gave the hosts a two-point edge heading into the final frame.
Free throws were the story of that fourth quarter, as UMass Dartmouth scored 12 of their 23 points in the final 10 minutes at the charity stripe. Castleton crept back to within a basket (53-51) once again on a Raiche lay-in with 7:56 remaining, and after the Corsairs pushed their advantage to six, Raiche capped one last Spartan run with a lay-in that sliced the visitors' deficit to one (59-58) with 1:47 to play. Carroll was fouled from behind the arc on the ensuing possession and sank all three free throws to start a streak of 11 straight conversions at the foul line for UMass Dartmouth, as Moretti hit all six of her attempts in the final 32 seconds of action to account for the final margin.
Carroll finished with 18 points and six rebounds on the day for the winners, who received 13 points and six boards from Carreiro along with six caroms each from seniors
Lauren Empey (Middleboro, Mass.) and
Meagan Donovan (Abington, Mass.). The Corsairs shot 35 percent from the floor (21-60) overall and converted 16 visitor turnovers into 19 points to post their fifth straight triumph in the series between the two schools.
Magro netted 21 points and seven rebounds in the setback for Castleton, which received 15 points and five assists from Raiche along with nine points and seven boards from senior
Emilee Bose (Enosburg Falls, Vt.). Sophomore
Gwyn Tatton (Rehoboth, Mass.) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Spartans, who shot 38 percent (25-66) from the field overall and held a 45-38 advantage on the glass.
UMass Dartmouth will be idle until Sunday, February 21
st when the Corsairs travel to Keene, N.H. for a Little East showdown with Keene State that tips-off at 2:00 pm, while Castleton hosts Northern Vermont-Johnson in a non-league outing on Monday evening in Castleton, Vt. that tips-off at 6:00 pm.
