DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by by a 24-point double-double by
Carly Whiteside on her senior night, the #21 UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team overwhelmed Keene State, 78-63, in Little East action on Wednesday. The win saw the Corsairs move to 21-3 overall and 13-2 in the LEC. The Owls drop below .500 at 11-12 with a 7-8 mark in conference play.
The Corsairs were paced by Whiteside, who posted 24 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 7 for 14 (50.0%) from the field and 9 for 10 (90.0%) from the free throw line. Senior
Teja Andrews recorded five rebounds and three steals in addition to her 18 points on 8 for 12 (66.7%) from the floor. Junior
Amaris Mills tallied 13 points, making 3 of her 8 three-point attempts. Senior
Kaylin Zalewski totaled 12 points and seven rebounds. The Corsairs dominated the matchup in second chance points (13-2), bench scoring (23-7) and points in the paint (38-20).
Keene State, paced throughout by Valerie Luizzi, saw the sophomore guard match the game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds while going 7 for 14 (50.0%) from the field (and 9 for 11 (81.8%) from the free throw line. Freshman Brynn Rautiola finished with 18 points and made 3 of her 4 three-pointers.
After the opening quarter of play, UMass Dartmouth entered the second quarter with a 19-13 lead, thanks largely to an 11-point first quarter from Whiteside. After a pair of threes from Luizzi and Rautiola evened the game at 21-21 at the 8:20 mark of the second quarter, the Corsairs went on a 13-1 run that gave them a 12-point lead with 2:34 left in the half. The run featured six points from Andrews. UMD was able to further add on to their lead before halftime, closing on a 7-2 run that put them up, 42-28 going into the intermission.
With 1:53 left in the third quarter, Keene State cut the deficit back down within single digits following back-to-back threes from Rautiola and freshman Angel Pillsbury. The Owls won the third quarter decidedly, outscoring UMass Dartmouth 23-15 in the frame. Yet the Corsairs entered the fourth and final quarter with a 57-51 lead.
The Corsairs saw their best quarter of play in the fourth, winning the individual frame by a margin of 21-12. Whiteside took over the early minutes of the fourth, scoring seven points in a 17-0 run by the Corsairs that stretched their advantage to 74-51 with 4:23 to play. UMD was able to ride out the clock on their way to a 78-63 victory over the Owls.
The Corsairs travel to Western Connecticut on Saturday for their final game of the 2023-24 regular season. The Corsairs look to solidify their best regular-season in program history with a win over the Wolves. The Little East rivals tip off at 1:00pm in Danbury, Conn.
