PROVIDENCE, R.I. -Â The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team fell to Rhode Island College, 70-55, in the 2022 Little East Conference (LEC) Championship Game Saturday afternoon at the Murray Center.
The Corsairs finish their season with a 20-8 record after advancing to the championship game for the fourth time in program history and third in the last five years. It was the final game for 5th-year seniors
Meagan Donovan and
Lauren Empey. Senior
Jordan Moretti, who will return next year, closes the season seven points away from 1,000 in her career.
With the win, the Anchorwomen improve to 23-5 and capture their fourth LEC title in program history. Junior Antonia Corsinetti sunk seven 3-pointers to lead the team with 27 points and was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Junior Izabelle Booth was also in double figures with 18 points.
The first three quarters were even. With the score tied at five, RIC went on a quick 5-0 run to jump ahead, 10-5, with 2:23 left in the first. Senior
Jessica Carroll hit a 3-ball and sophomore
Kaylin Zalewski got a jumper to go to make it a 15-12 deficit after one.
Senior
Shaelyn Carreiro knotted the score at 15 with a triple to start the second. Neither team led by more than three points in the quarter. Carreiro had 10 of her 12 total points in the stanza as the score was tied at 28 at the half.
RIC opened the third on a 9-0 run to take a 37-28 lead with 5:56 on the clock. It was all Corsairs for the remainder of the quarter. Moretti started things with a layup, Carroll kept it going with a three, and Carroll finished it with a pair of free throws to cap an 11-3 run and make it a 40-39 game heading to the fourth.
The Anchorwomen turned it on in the fourth, utilizing a full-court press to give the Corsairs trouble. RIC outscored UMass Dartmouth, 30-16, in the fourth to take the championship.
Moretti finished with 12 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Carreiro had 12 points and eight boards. Zalewski was also in double figures with 10 points.
