DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team opened the 2024 season with a 68-49 win over Union College on Saturday night from the Tripp Athletic Center. The Corsairs start the new season 1-0 with the victory over the Garnet Chargers who fall to 0-1 overall.
Graduate student
Carly Whiteside scored the first basket of the new season for UMass Dartmouth and quickly followed with another good layup to put the home team up 6-2. Senior
Amaris Mills splashed her first triple of the season to make it a 9-5 game.
Claudia Porto posted four points for Union to tie the game at 9-9, approaching the last four minutes of the opening quarter. The Garnet Chargers continued to gain momentum on offense, scoring the last five points highlighted by a three-pointer from Grace Ardito to take a 14-9 lead into the second quarter.
Whiteside answered for the Corsairs with a triple off the assist from graduate student
Teja Andrews to start the second quarter. Andrews stole the ball away from Emma Riley with 7:18 on the clock and finished with a layup to cut Union's lead down to just one point. The Garnet Chargers responded by going on a 7-0 run to extend their advantage to 25-17.
In the final minute of the first half, junior
Melanie DeMeo made her first basket of the night on a fast break and finished a pair of free throws to bring the score to 28-26 Union. After fifth year
Jemima Joseph made two free throws to even the score at 28-28, fifth year
Kaylin Zalewski nailed a buzzer beater triple to give UMass Dartmouth a 31-28 edge at halftime.
Once again, Whiteside opened the third quarter with three-pointer off the assist from Mills to kick off the second half of the contest. UMass Dartmouth continued to grow their lead after generating a 9-5 run finished off by a layup from Andrews to take a 10-point edge over Union. Shortly after Grace Ceseretti knocked down a triple, graduate student
Jane McCauley drained her first shot from behind the arc. The Corsairs finished the quarter by making 3-of-4 free throws to head into the final quarter up 51-40.
Mills made back-to-back triples in an 8-0 opening run for the Corsairs to give the home team their largest advantage in the game at 19 points. Juniors
Kasey Oliver and
Cristina Negron each drained a three-pointer, both assisted by McCauley, to make it 68-44. The Garnet Chargers strung late five points together, but the Corsairs sealed their first home victory of the season by a final score of 68-49.
Whiteside led the UMass Dartmouth offense with a team-high 17 points (6-9 FG, 2-3 3-FG, 3-4 FT) to go along with five defensive rebounds. Zalewski (4-17 FG, 1-9 3-FG, 3-5 FT) and Mills (4-8 FG, 4-7 3-FG) each scored 12 points apiece in the win.
On the defensive end, Joseph grabbed six defensive boards to go along with four points, two assists, and a pair of steals. Zalewski ended the night with a team-high four steals while Andrews led the Corsairs in assists with four.
The Corsairs advanced to the Lafrance Hospitality Tournament Championship game tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 10 facing Maine Maritime Academy. The game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start time from Tripp Athletic Center.
