Corsairs Edged by Rhode Island College in LEC Semifinal...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team's run in the Little East Conference Tournament comes to a close after they fell short in a tight battle with Rhode Island College, 66-60. Graduate student Jordan Moretti scored a game-high 21 points, and passed the second all-time leading scorer in program history in her efforts. 

Moretti led the Corsairs with 21 points on 4-7 (57.1%) from deep and 7-8 (87.5%) from the free throw line. She also grabbed eight rebounds and four steals. Fifth year senior Jessica Carroll added 14 points and four rebounds. Junior Teja Andrews tallied nine points and eight rebounds, and fifth year Caroline Wilson hauled in nine rebounds and scored seven points. 
 
Rhode Island College was led by sophomore Angelina Nardolillo with 16 points and nine rebounds. The Anchorwomen also got double-digit points from their seniors, Antonia Corsinetti (13 pts, 8 reb) and Izabelle Booth (11 pts, 5 reb). RIC won the rebound battle over UMD, 48-36.
 
The Corsairs made it obvious early they did not come into the game feeling like an under-dog. They jumped ahead 7-3 off the tip after a couple of buckets from Andrews and Carroll, along with a three from Wilson. The first three scores for the Anchorwomen were all from behind the arc, with two coming from Booth and one from Corsenetti, cutting the score to 11-9 in favor of the Corsairs midway through the first quarter. RIC took their first lead of the game off a Jayda Bing (sophomore) layup to put them up 15-14 with 2:30 left in the opening quarter. The conference foes went into the first break evened up at 16-16. 
 
Moretti sank the first of her four threes early in the second frame. A jumper from Wilson put the Corsairs up by five midway through the period, before the Anchorwomen answered with two three-pointers from Corsinetti and Bing. The second quarter was the lowest scoring of the contest, with Rhode Island College out-scoring UMassD 11-10 to go into halftime up 27-26. 
 
Moretti made a statement early in the second half, sinking back-to-back long-balls to put the Corsairs back on top by three. Moretti and Carroll continued sinking buckets for UMass Dartmouth in the third quarter. Nardolillo and Corsinetti kept the Anchorwomen close, but Andrews responded for UMD with a huge and-1 with less than a minute left in the quarter to extend the lead to 44-37. Corsinetti hit a mid-range jumper on their last possession to bring the score to 44-39 in favor of the Corsairs going into the final 10 minutes. 
 
The Anchorwomen immediately evened the score up early on in the fourth. Their sophomore Dejah Middleton hit back-to-back massive threes to put them back on top, 47-44 at the eight minute mark. Andrews scored two more big buckets inside for UMass Dartmouth to equalize the game at 49. Moretti, as she often has over her five-year career at UMass Dartmouth, sank a massive deep three off a dish from junior Kaylin Zalewski to go back up by three with five minutes remaining. This big-time shot also marked the moment when Moretti cemented herself as the second all-time leading scorer in program history. The remaining minutes of the contest was back-and-forth, with both teams spending plenty of time on the foul line. Moretti went 6-for-6 from the stripe in crunch time to keep the Corsairs in range to have a chance at this game. But it was the free-throw shooting from the Anchorwomen, who went 10-for-10 in the final two minutes of the game, that prevailed in the end. 
 
After giving Rhode Island College more than a scare on their home court, the Anchorwomen edge UMass Dartmouth by a score of 66-60. 
 
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team's season comes to an end as they bow out of the LEC Tournament. Rhode Island College will travel to top-seeded Eastern Connecticut for the Little East Conference Championship Game.