Corsairs Continue to Roll, Take down UMass Boston 82-75

BOSTON - University of Massachusetts Dartmouth junior Kaylin Zalewski scored a game-high 21 points and pulled in 10 rebounds and the Corsairs won their fourth straight contest, holding off University of Massachusetts Boston 82-75 this evening in a Little East Conference contest at the Clark Athletic Center.  
 
The Corsairs are in the midst of a season-best four-game win streak to improve to 9-6 overall, including a 5-1 mark in the conference circuit, while the Beacons fell to 8-8 and 1-5 against conference opponents.  UMass Dartmouth has won four consecutive contests against UMass Boston and 11 out of the past 16 meetings.  

UMass Dartmouth used a balanced scoring attack as four players reached double digits in scoring, led by Zalewski.  Zalewski was 7-for-15 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line to produce at least 20 points for the third time this season.  She also collected eight of her 10 boards on the defensive end, registered six steals and three blocked shots to post her first double-double of the campaign. Graduate student Jordan Moretti tallied 10 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter, while junior Teja Andrews contributed 17 points and Jessica Carroll added 11. 

UMass Boston saw three players put up double-digit points. The Beacons were led by junior Alexah Potter who had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Graduate student Meg Dixon also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards. UMB's senior Paige Ollivierre also netted 16 points and went 4/9 (44.4%) from deep.  

The game was back-and-forth through the first three quarters, before a late run by the Corsairs surged them past the Beacons. The first quarter was controlled by UMass Boston thanks to an early scoring burst from Potter. A few buckets from Andrews kept UMD in it, but they ultimately went into the second quarter down 17-16. 
 
A balanced attack from the Corsairs propelled them on top in the second quarter. Zalewski went 4/4 from the free-throw line. Aside from free-throw shooting, this was UMass Dartmouth's worst quarter shooting, converting just 31.3% from the field. They lost the quarter 20-17, and trailed by four at the half, 37-33.
 
In the second half, UMassD started slow and allowed UMB to extend to a seven-point lead, their largest of the game. The Corsairs were able to respond, and the two teams continued to trade blows. Some good free-throw shooting from Moretti and freshman Melanie DeMeo narrowed the deficit to 54-52 going into the final quarter.
 
One minute into the fourth, a Zalewski layup gave UMass Dartmouth the lead for the first time that half.Grad student Jessica Carroll sunk big back-to-back buckets to open the game up for the Corsairs. Zalewski and Moretti helped close out the game with clutch shooting from the field and the stripe. UMass Dartmouth finished ff the Beacons, 82-75.
 
UMass Dartmouth caused 21 turnovers while only giving it away 14 times. They made the most of those opportunities with 28 points off turnovers and 19 fast break points. UMass Boston dominated the offensive glass, scoring 14 second-chance points. 

UMass Dartmouth returns to action at 1pm on Saturday,January 14, when the Corsairs travel to Castleton University (10-4, 3-2 LEC).