DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Backed by a solid fourth quarter front, the UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team posted an 89-72 victory over Roger Williams University in non-conference action on Tuesday evening. The victory moves the Corsairs to a perfect 5-0 on the season, while the visiting Hawks slip to 1-2 overall.
The win marks one of the best starts for the Corsairs since the 2018-19 season when the squad opened 6-0 overall.
UMass Dartmouth took a 58-52 lead into the final quarter of play, but the Hawks came roaring back, as a 9-2 start saw Reese Cordero nail a three-pointer to give visitors a 61-60 lead. Senior guard and captain
Kaylin Zalewski answered with a shot from behind the arc, going back ahead as sophomore guard
Tyah Pettaway added a jumper for a 65-61 lead with 7:34 to play.
Graduate forward
Carly Whiteside drained a layup soon after, but the Hawks answered as Sophia Coppola drove in for the bucket to make it a four-point game (67-63). The Corsairs drained three of four free throw shots to open the margin back to seven (70-63), countering another Coppola shot with six straight points – including four back-to-back from sophomore guard
Melanie DeMeo for a 76-65 lead with 2:02 remaining.
The Corsairs surrendered just two more buckets to the Hawks over the final two minutes to pull away with the victory behind double-figure points from four different Corsairs.
Leading the way for UMass Dartmouth was Zalewski, who posted a game-best 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-6 (66.7%) from beyond the arc. Zalewski added three assists and a steal. Whiteside added a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a game-high five blocks, while DeMeo also recorded a game-high 21 points with five assists, three boards and a steal. Pettaway added 13 points for the Corsairs with five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
For the Hawks, Caroline Elie finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, adding two assists, a block and two steals, while Coppola recorded a double-double of 15 points and a game-best 12 boards. Galligan posted 17 points with three assists and a steal, while Abrielle Racine added 10 points and six boards with two assists and two blocks.
Roger Williams opened the first quarter with a 19-15 advantage, but a strong second stanza effort from the Corsairs, including four points from Pettaway to open a nine-point margin, saw the home team ahead 41-35 at half.
Out of the intermission, the Corsairs continued to hold the lead, matching buckets until Elie began to lead the charge back with four points as the visitors closed the gap to 58-52 to set up the high-scoring fourth quarter.
UMass Dartmouth is now idle for the holiday break but returns to the court on Tuesday when it hosts Bridgewater State at the Tripp Athletic Center Gym. Action gets underway at 5:30pm as the men's team follows at 7:30pm.
