DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Junior
Haley Reinold sunk a three with eight seconds remaining in the game to boost the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team to a 51-49 home win over Eastern Connecticut Monday at the Tripp Athletic Center.
It was the second-straight game that the Corsairs (8-4, 2-1 LEC) pulled off late game heroics. Senior
Jessica Carroll led the team with 14 points and added two steals, while sophomore
Teja Andrews finished with eight points off the bench. Senior
Jordan Moretti tallied seven points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Senior Anna Barry was the leading scorer for the Warriors (6-8, 3-2 LEC) with 21 points and 13 boards.
After a slow first half where the Corsairs trailed 17-4 after the first quarter, and 27-17 at halftime, UMass Dartmouth turned up the tempo in the third.
5th-year senior
Meagan Donovan's layup sparked an 20-5 run with buckets by Moretti, senior
Lauren Empey, and Andrews to even the score at 30 with 3:08 left in the third. Sophomore
Faye Veilleux scored, and a pair of triples by Carroll and senior
Caroline Wilson kept it rolling, to take a 37-32 advantage. East Conn scored the final four points of the quarter to make it a 37-36 game heading to the fourth.
The Warriors immediately hit a three to start the fourth and go up, 39-37. Four straight points by Carroll followed by a Donovan layup brought the Corsairs back on top by four with 6:27 to go. Carroll drained her second 3-pointer of the game and Reinold made a layup to maintain a 48-45 advantage with 2:06 on the clock.
East Conn made it a one-point game with a layup and took a 49-48 lead with 22 seconds left with a jumper. That set the table for Reinold, who found space and let the game-winning three fly with eight seconds to spare.
Clutch blocks in the final seconds by Empey and Wilson secured the win for the Corsairs.
UMass Dartmouth is on the road at Rhode Island College next for a 5:30 p.m. tip off.
