GORHAM, Maine – Powered by double-figure efforts from five different players, the UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team posted a 76-64 victory over the University of Southern Maine in Little East Conference action on Thursday. The Corsairs (RV-D3hoops.com) move to 12-2 with a 5-1 LEC mark, while the Huskies are now 6-9 and 4-2 in conference play.
UMass Dartmouth, which owned a 37-28 lead after the two opening quarters of action, opened the third stanza on a 4-0 run. The Huskies responded as Liz Cote nailed a three-pointer, followed up by a Tamrah Gould layup to cut the deficit to 41-33.
Southern Maine continued to keep pace, cutting the margin to 46-39 on a Vanessa Vaughan bucket with 5:02 remaining, but the Corsairs answered on the other end as junior guard
Amaris Mills knocked down a trey of her own to regain the 10-point (49-39) lead.
The Huskies got another shot from beyond the arc from Luna Love to drop it to 51-45, but 7-0 run, including five points from senior guard and captain
Teja Andrews, saw the visitors head into the final quarter with a 58-47 lead.
Fourth quarter action saw the Corsairs continue to press as graduate forward
Carly Whiteside drained a pair of shots from the free throw line, going on to add a layup to open up a 64-52 lead with 5:55 remaining. The Huskies got a pair of shots from the charity stripe from Vaughan, but Whiteside added yet another bucket to make it a 12-point advantage at 5:13.
Holding a 74-60 lead following shot from senior guard and captain
Kaylin Zalewski with 45 seconds to play, the Corsairs added free throw makes from sophomore guard
Melanie DeMeo to close out the scoring for UMass Dartmouth enroute to victory.
Andrews led the way for the Corsairs, recording 18 points with five rebounds, adding three assists, a block and two steals. Sophomore guard
Tyah Pettaway recorded 14 points with six boards and a steal, while Whiteside dropped in a double-double of 13 points and 10 caroms with a game-best four assists. Mills posted 10 points, while DeMeo also added 10 points with four boards and three assists.
Southern Maine was paced by a game-high 21 points from Liz Cote, who notched three rebounds with a steal. Gould added 11 points with two caroms and three steals, while Vaughan had nine points with two boards and two assists.
The Corsairs return to action on Saturday, returning to the confines of the Tripp Athletic Center to face Western Connecticut State in Little East action. Tip-off is set for 1pm.
