Corsairs Limit the Owls to Just 34 Points in Road Win

KEENE, N.H. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team's stifling defense held Keene State University to just 34 total points in a dominant Little East Conference (LEC) win Wednesday evening. This was the lowest total points that the Owls have ever put up in a matchup with the Corsairs. The previous lowest point total was 43 points in December of 2018.
 
The Corsairs are 9-and-2 in their last 11 games, and their overall record advances to 14-8. They continue to move up in the Little East Conference standings, now 10-3 against conference opponents. The Owls drop to 5-15 overall and are now 3-11 in the LEC

Every Corsair that saw the court contributed to the scoring today. UMass Dartmouth was led by grad student Jordan Moretti, with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Moretti also picked three steals and blocked a shot on defense. Junior Kaylin Zalewski notched 10 points. The pair from Johnston, Rhode Island each sunk two three-pointers went went a combined 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. 

Keene State did not see any of their players reach double-figures. They were led by freshman Valerie Luizzi and sophomore Elizabeth Gonyea with eight points each. Junior Rylee Burgess grabbed 14 rebounds for the Owls. As a unit, KSU had a tough night from the floor, shooting just 22.2% from the field and 21.7% from behind the arc. 

After a slow first quarter that finished with UMD leading 10-7, back-to-back threes from Moretti and fellow grad student Julia Quinn to open the second extended the Corsairs' lead to nine, and they would never look back. UMass Dartmouth nearly shut out the Owls for the entire second quarter. Keene State's only three points came at the buzzer on a three-pointer from Kenzie Durnford (Sophomore). UMassD went into halftime with a 25-10 lead. 

The Corsairs' dominance on defense continued in the third quarter, where they allowed just four points to be scored by the Owls. A balanced scoring attack headed by Moretti, Zalewski, and Teja Andrews (junior) helped continue to run the score up. UMass Dartmouth went into the final quarter with an insurmountable 31-point lead. 
 
With the comfortable lead, Head Coach Matt Ducharme was able to utilize his bench in the fourth quarter. Freshman Melanie DeMeo netted a pair of threes and her classmate Kiara Cerruti tallied 7 points, sinking a three-ball and going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. The Corsairs went on to win their fourth straight game, this one by a score of 69-34. 

UMass Dartmouth out-scored Keene State 35-7 in the second and third quarters. UMD forced 24 turnovers and won the rebound battle 42-35.