DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a team defensive effort that limited their opposition to a 32.8% night from the floor, the UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team overwhelmed Eastern Connecticut, 77-48, in Little East action on Wednesday at the Tripp Athletic Center. The win saw the Corsairs move to 16-2 overall and 8-1 in the LEC. UMD is on a seven-game win streak and were ranked #24 in the latest WBCA Coaches Poll. Meanwhile the Warriors are now 7-12 overall with a 5-5 mark in conference play.
The Corsairs held a 40-23 lead after the opening two quarters of play, powered by an 11-point half from senior
Teja Andrews and eight first-half points from grad student
Carly Whiteside. Kicking off the second half at a 17-point advantage, Eastern Connecticut had their best quarter all night, only being outscored by one through the 10-minute span.
Whiteside contributed to early scoring in the third for the Corsairs, sinking two layups and two free throws in the first five minutes of the half. The Warriors had a more balanced offensive attack in the quarter, including four points from junior Taylor Salato, who began to find her shot. A layup from ECSU senior Cara McGettigan cut the UMass Dartmouth lead down to 14 with 1:13 left in the quarter. Corsairs' junior
Amaris Mills buried a late three and senior
Jemima Joseph added a late free throw that put the Corsairs up, 58-40 at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter saw more of the same for the Corsairs, who continued to add onto their lead. Whiteside, Mills and Andrews scored consecutive layups that put UMass Dartmouth up by 26 with 5:34 to go. The Corsairs only allowed four points in for over nine minutes of action in the fourth quarter. The UMD scoring was capped off by a three-pointer from freshman
Shelby Companion, as the Corsairs went on to win, 77-48 over the Warriors.
The Warriors were unable to find success from the three-point line throughout the contest, going 0-5 from deep. UMass Dartmouth out-paced the Warriors in several categories; Points Off Turnovers (18-0), 2
ndChance Points (13-4), Bench Scoring (26-8), Points in the Paint (48-20), Fast Break Points (17-1) and caused 20 turnovers to their seven.
Eastern Connecticut, paced throughout by Salato, saw the junior forward score 14 points and haul in 11 rebounds for a double-double. Freshman Nevaeh Clark was one rebound shy of a double-double of her own with 10 points and nine rebounds. The Warriors also saw nine points and nine boards from McGettigan.
UMass Dartmouth was paced by Andrews' game-high 19 points on 6 for 11 from the field and 7 of 11 from the free throw line. Andrews also recorded seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. The Corsairs saw two others score in double-figures, including an 18-point day from Whiteside. Whiteside was 7 for 16 from the floor and 4 for 5 from the charity stripe. She also hauled in six rebounds and blocked two shots. Mills scored 10 points off the bench for the Corsairs, making half of the team's three-pointers at 2 for 5.
The Corsairs, who were voted the #24 team in the country in the latest WBCA Coaches Poll, hit the road again on Saturday, traveling to Plymouth State for a 1:00pm LEC matchup against the Panthers.
