DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a dominant first half, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team defeated Plymouth State, 84-49, in their second Little East Conference matchup of the season. The Corsairs improved to 7-1 and begin their conference schedule 2-0. The Panthers dip to 5-3 and suffer their first conference loss, bringing them to 1-1 in the LEC.
UMass Dartmouth opened the game on a 7-0 run, taking an early lead that they would not give up all game long. Senior
Carly Whiteside made a pair of layups and a three pointer early in the first quarter. Sophomore
Tyah Pettaway made an early impact off the bench, scoring back-to-back buckets that put the Corsairs up 11 with 1:57 to go in the quarter. UMass Dartmouth won the first quarter, 27-14.
The Corsairs continued to pour it on in the second quarter, outscoring the Panthers 25-10. UMD took off early in the second quarter with a 9-1 run in the first three minutes of the quarter. Sophomore
Melanie DeMeo had a solid quarter with three quick buckets that lifted the Corsairs to a 24-point lead with 3:20 remaining in the half. A late PSU layup from junior Brianna Wilcox scored the 10
th point of the quarter for the Panthers as UMD went into the locker room with a sizeable 52-24 advantage.
UMass Dartmouth kicked off the second half with another scoring explosion, going on a 14-1 run six minutes into the third. Senior
Teja Andrews put up seven points during that stretch. Junior
Jemima Joseph scored a layup off a beautiful feed from senior
Kaylin Zalewski with eight seconds to go, giving UMD a 72-34 lead going into the final quarter of play.
The Corsairs cruised through the fourth quarter with a large lead. Several reserves made a late impact, including three first-years in
Shelby Companion,
Brodie Gannon and
Kasey Oliver.
The Corsairs' defense was stifling, limiting the Panthers field goal percentage to just 28.8% for the game. UMass Dartmouth also caused 21 turnovers and scored 26 points on the other side of them. UMD outscored the Panthers on the fast break, 24-2. The Corsairs also saw 36 points come from their bench to Plymouth State's 17.
UMass Dartmouth was led by a committee of scorers. DeMeo and Whiteside each scored 12. DeMeo's 12 points came along with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals on 6 of 8 from the floor. Whiteside tallied eight rebounds and went 3 for 3 from the free throw line. Joseph had her first double-digit scoring game of the season with 10 points and five rebounds, shooting 4 for 5 from the field. The Corsairs saw another 11 points from Andrews.
For the Panthers, Wilcox finished with a game-high 18 points while securing six rebounds and four steals.
UMass Dartmouth was receiving votes in the latest D3Hoops National Ballot. The Corsairs have a sizeable break after a tremendous start to their 2023-24 campaign. They will return to action on December 30 for a 3pm tip off against Dickinson University as the first match of the Smith Holiday Classic.
