PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Four players reached double-figures to lead Rhode Island College to a 76-56 victory over UMass Dartmouth in Little East Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday evening. The victory moves the Anchorwomen to 21-3 with a 14-1 conference mark, while the Corsairs slip to 15-9 and 11-4 in the Little East.
The Corsairs opened the contest with an impressive 8-2 run, stretching it to an 11-5 advantage behind three-pointers from junior guard
Kaylin Zalewski and graduate student and guard
Caroline Wilson. Key stops and a trey from Antonia Corsinetti cut the Anchorwomen deficit to one (11-10) and the home team got a driving layup from Jeniyah Jones to regain the lead (12-11) with 5:18 to play.
A pull-up jumper on the other end from grad student and guard
Julia Quinn gave the Corsairs the 13-12 lead, but a steal by Izabelle Booth led to an inside hook shot from Angelina Nardolillo as the Anchorwomen pushed back in from 14-13 at the 3:56 mark.
Zalewski answered with 2:32 remaining, completing an And-1 play to once again make it a one-point (17-16) game, but Booth answered with a trey soon after as RIC kept UMD off the board over the final minutes to take a 22-16 lead into the second quarter.
Trailing by 10 (26-16) a minute into the second stanza, Quinn nailed a deep three to cut the margin to single digits, followed by a driving layup from Zalewski to close it to five (26-21) with 8:46 on the clock. It became a scoring stalemate between the two squads until the 4:35 mark as graduate student
Jessica Carroll dropped in a pair of free throws to make it a three-point (26-23) game.
The Anchorwomen answered on a shot by Booth on the next possession, but a long-range three from graduate student
Jordan Moretti cut the gap once again, 29-26. Moretti followed that up with a layup at 2:53, but Booth countered with back-to-back threes to open a 39-28 lead over the Corsairs at the 1:11 mark.
Another step back jumper from Moretti came in the final seconds, but RIC headed into halftime with a 41-30 advantage.
Out of the break, the Anchorwomen continued to come on strong as a three from Corsinetti made it a 48-35 lead for the home team at the 6:47 mark. UMD took a timeout, regrouping as they looked to close the gap, but the RIC offense was too strong as buckets from Nardolillo and Jones made it a 55-35 advantage with 1:58 on the clock.
Shots from Zalewski and junior guard
Teja Andrews cut the deficit to 57-39, but Rhode Island College headed into the final stanza with a 57-39 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Anchorwomen offense continued to press, but the Corsairs broke through as Wilson nailed a three-pointer for a 59-42 score at 9:07. Matching three-pointers, including one from UMD's Moretti helped keep the Corsairs in it (62-45) with 7:57 remaining.
UMD saw Zalewski drop in a three-pointer at the 4:32 mark, followed by a pair of free throw makes in the final 2:21 by rookie guard
Melanie DeMeo, but RIC held strong to secure the conference victory.
Nardolillo came on strong in the second half, finishing with a game-high 19 points with five rebounds, three assists and a block as she went 9-of-14 from the floor. Booth added 16 points (including 4-of-6 from three-point range) and nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Jones added 16 points with seven boards and four assists. Corsinetti added 11 points, eight caroms and game-high five assists.
For the Corsairs, Zalewski posted 13 points with four boards, two assists and a steal. Moretti finished the game with 12 points, two caroms, a steal and a game-best five assists, while Wilson added 11 points and a team-best seven boards with three assists.
The Corsairs return to the court on Saturday, hosting Castleton at 1pm at the Tripp Athletic Center. The team will also celebrate it's graduates with Senior Day prior to the contest against the Spartans.
