NEWPORT, R.I. – Powered by two 20-point performances from sophomore
Tyah Pettaway and senior
Carly Whiteside, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball gets off to a 2-0 start to its 2023-24 season with a 84-68 victory at Salve Regina on Wednesday evening. Five players reached double-figures for the Corsairs, including 16 from sophomore
Melanie DeMeo and 16 off the bench from junior
Amaris Mills.
It was a close game throughout the opening half as the Seahawks owned a four-point advantage (17-13) after the opening quarter of play. UMass Dartmouth fell behind to a 0-7 start at the 8:43 mark, but pulled back into the contest thanks to a flurry of three pointers made by Mills, Pettaway and Whiteside. Salve's senior Amanda Folan sunk a three-ball of her own to close out the opening quarter with a four-point advantage.
DeMeo and Pettaway took over the early minutes of the second quarter. Pettaway nailed a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer, while DeMeo added a layup and a three of her own in the first five minutes of the quarter. The Seahawks were able to reclaim a ten-point lead before the half backed by another couple of jumpers from Folan. UMass Dartmouth senior
Teja Andrews finished a fastbreak layup in the closing seconds of the half to cut the Salve Regina lead to eight.
Trailing 36-28 to start the second half, the Corsairs began their surge back into the game. After back-to-back buckets from Pettaway and a timely DeMeo three-pointe to cut the lead to one point, a pair of free throws from Andrews gave the Corsairs their first lead of the game. The later stages of the third quarter saw Pettaway score six more points in the final two minutes as the Corsairs soared to a 16-point lead going into the final frame.
UMass Dartmouth rolled with their momentum they built in the third quarter, and a deep ball from Andrews extended the lead to 21 with 6:01 remaining. Two and-ones from Whiteside put an exclamation point on a dominant second half as the Corsairs cruised to an 84-64 win on the road.
Pettaway had a breakout game in her first season with UMD. She tallied 20 points on 50% from the field and 50% from threes. She also added five assists, four rebounds and four steals in her efforts on Wednesday. Whiteside put up 20 points of her own on 9-of-12 (75%) shooting. DeMeo tallied 16 points while going 4-for-4 from deep, and Mills added 15 points off the bench.
Salve Regina was paced by 20 points and five rebounds on 7 of 9 from the field from senior Briana Neary. Her sister and sophomore for Salve Sofia tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double, while making 7 of 10 free throws. The Seahawks also saw Folan and junior Ashley Rourke score in double figures.
The Corsairs shots 49.2% (32 of 65) for the game, while going 10 of 23 (43.5%) from the behind the three-point arc. UMass Dartmouth also owned a 34-12 margin in fast break points and had their bench out-scored the Seahawks' 15-2 for the contest.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday, when they host the Lafrance Hospitality Tournament at the Tripp Athletic Center in Dartmouth. Smith College, Emerson College, and Mitchell College will be competing. The Corsairs will tip off against Emerson College at 7:30PM on Saturday.
