Corsairs Dominate in 74-46 Victory

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team opened the Smith Holiday Tournament with a dominant, 74-46 victory over SUNY Poly on Friday afternoon.
 
The Corsairs' overall record advances to .500 at 5-5. The Wildcats drop to 4-5.

Freshman Melanie DeMeo led the way for UMass Dartmouth with 14 points. Junior forward Jemima Joseph tallied 13 points and was just one rebound away from a double-double. Her classmate Teja Andrews put up 12 points of her own on 6-9 from the field.
 
Suny Poly saw two players put up double-digit points, led by freshman Faith Wagner with 11. Senior Molly Burdick had 10 points and 11 rebounds in a double-double for the Wildcats.  
 
UMass Dartmouth's dominance in this game began on the defensive end, limiting SUNY Poly to 36.5% shooting from the field, and justy 2-11 from beyond the arc. The Corsairs also caused 27 turnovers which led to 26 points. UMass Dartmouth also made the most of their possessions by converting 16 points on second-chance opportunities. The intensity on defense also led to 17 fast break points for UMD, and the Corsairs out-scored the Wildcats in the paint, 38-16. 
 
Fifth year Jordan Moretti nailed a three to open the game for UMass Dartmouth, and that was followed up by another three-pointer, this time from junior Kaylin Zalewski, to start off to an early 6-0 lead. UMassD would never trail in this game after gaining the initial lead. A DeMeo layup extended the lead to 10 points with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. A few quick baskets from SUNY Poly narrowed the gap at the end of the first, UMass Dartmouth leading 19-13. 
 
A balanced attack from the Corsairs kept them comfortably in front in the second quarter. In the final two minutes of the half, grad student Jessica Carroll drained back-to-back threes, widening the gap in the contest to 17 points. 
 
Early in the second half, the Corsairs' lead would reach 20 points, and UMass Dartmouth's bench stepped up and continued to gain distance on the trailing Wildcats. UMD's bench out-scored SUNY Poly's bench 35-2. The fourth quarter was more of the same story for the Corsairs, who cruised along to a 74-46 victory in their first contest of the Smith Holiday Tournament. 

The Corsairs have one more matchup in Northampton, Mass. on Saturday against the tournament-hosts, Smith College. UMass Dartmouth women's basketball's final contest of 2022 tips off at 3 PM.