Moretti Double-Double not Enough as Corsairs Fall to Eastern Connecticut

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team fell short, 74-66, to Eastern Connecticut in a back-and-forth battle at the top of the Little East Conference (LEC) standings. 

Graduate student Jordan Moretti tallied a double-double for the Corsairs (10-8, 6-3 LEC) with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Teja Andrews scored 17 to lead UMassD in scoring, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Warriors' (15-4, 9-1 LEC) scoring burst off the bench from sophomores Kya Mayo (12 points) and Taylor Salato (15 points, 8 rebounds). EastConn senior Anna Barry had a game-high 21 points and coupled that with 10 rebounds for a double-double of her own. 
 
The three-ball wasn't falling for either team in this one. UMass Dartmouth shot just 20.0% from deep, which out-performed EastConn who converted just 13.3% from behind the arc. The Corsairs got 10 steals as a team and caused 17 total turnovers defensively. Another strong-spot for UMass Dartmouth on Wednesday was their free-throw shooting, where they went 22-for-24 (91.7%).
 
The first quarter was a series of traded buckets for the two division rivals. Andrews made a layup to give the Corsairs the 19-18 lead going into the intermission. This would be the only quarter that UMassD out-scored the Warriors. 
 
The officials were not bashful with the whistle in the second quarter, awarding 10 free-throws to either side. The Corsairs went 10-for-10 in the quarter, at the hands of \, Andrews, junior Kaylin Zalewski and junior Jaelyn Lavigne, who each went 2-for-2 while Moretti went 4-for-4. Warriors' grad student Danielle O'Brien hit the only two threes for EastConn in this quarter, leading to a 39-38 lead over the Corsairs at halftime. 
 
EastConn was able to widen the margin in the third behind a spree of buckets in the paint from Barry. After two free-throws from Lavigne narrowed the Corsairs' deficit to four, Moretti converted on an and-one to cut the lead to just one point with a 1:30 on the clock. Another Barry layup put the Warriors up 56-53 entering the final frame. 
 
In the fourth quarter, Eastern Connecticut went back to the stripe nine times, and converted on eight of those attempts, to extend and hold onto their lead over the Corsairs. Salato went 9/10 from the free-throw line and helped ice the game, 74-66 in favor of the Warriors. 

UMass Dartmouth will host the Wolves of WestConn at 1 p.m on Saturday.