DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Fifth year guard
Kaylin Zalewski powers the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth over Brandeis University, 81-71, on Saturday from the Tripp Athletic Center. The Corsairs improve to a perfect 4-0 start to the season while the Judges suffer their third loss of the year.
After Jessica Maina opened the game with a good three-pointer for Brandeis, the Corsairs answered by generating a 13-0 run highlighted by a triple from senior guard
Amaris Mills along with four points and an assist by Zalewski. Graduate student guard
Teja Andrews laid in a good basket at the 4:37 mark to make it 20-10 UMass Dartmouth. The Judges continued to fight back towards the end of the quarter as Maina drained another three-pointer followed by four late points for Brandeis in the final minute to make it a five-point game heading into the second.
It was a quiet start to the second quarter as Brandeis went 0-for-6 from the field in the opening two minutes of action, respectively, before Andrews found her way to the charity stripe and made both shots at the 8:30 mark. Graduate student guard
Jane McCauley knocked down her first triple of the game off the assist from Mills to put the Corsairs back up 31-21. The Judges responded midway through the quarter going on a 11-0 run to claim a 32-31 edge.
Fifth year forward
Jemima Joseph finished a layup soon followed by a jumper from Mills to regain a 35-32 lead. The Judges produced a late scoring surge posting eight straight points before halftime to give the visitors a 40-37 advantage.
Zalewski kicked off the third quarter by finishing an and-one play to narrow the Judges lead down to two points. Graduate student forward
Carly Whiteside dropped the next five points for UMass Dartmouth soon followed by a good driving layup by junior guard
Melanie DeMeo. After Zalewski evened the score up at 49-apeice with two made free throws, both teams continued to exchange points in the final minutes of the quarter. McCauley drained a pair of triples for the Corsairs to keep UMass Dartmouth in the game, but a late three-pointer by Maina gave Brandeis a 60-59 edge at the end of the third.
UMass Dartmouth came out strong in the fourth quarter outscoring Brandeis 11-0 in the opening five minutes, respectively. Maina knocked down another triple for the Judges to briefly disrupt the Corsairs momentum. The home team capitalized from the charity stripe going 7-of-8 along with four late points from Zalewski to cement UMass Dartmouth's fourth consecutive win of the season defeating Brandeis by a final score of 81-71.
The Corsairs made 28-of-57 shots for a 49.1 shooting percentage compared to Brandeis who made 22-of-72 shots from the floor for a 37.5 shooting percentage. The Judges found success from range making 10-of-29 shots from distance (34.5) while the Corsairs knocked down five three-pointers (29.4) in the game. UMass Dartmouth converted 21 points on fast breaks while Brandeis scored 10 points on the break.
Five different Corsairs scored in the double-digits led by Zalewski with 23 points (7-9 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 8-9 FT) to go along with five rebounds, one assist, and a steal. Mills (4-10 FG, 1-5 3-FG, 2-2 FT) and McCauley (4-5 FG, 3-4 3-FG) each scored 11 points apiece for the Corsairs while Whiteside (4-13 FG, 2-3 FT) and DeMeo (3-7 FG, 4-5 FT) posted 10 points each.
Mills grabbed a season-high nine rebounds, all defensive boards, while Whiteside hauled in eight total rebounds (2-6) and blocked a team-high three shots. Andrews led the squad with her three steals while fifth year guard
Jaelyn Lavigne dished out three assists in the win.
UMass Dartmouth travel to Roger Williams University for their next non-conference game on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. from Bristol, R.I.
