CASTLETON, Vt. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball team secured their fourth consecutive Little East Conference win over the Vermont State University Castleton, 93-74, on Saturday afternoon. The Corsairs, who are receiving votes in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Top 15 polls, are now 10-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play while the Spartans dropped to 0-4 in league play.
Graduate student
Carly Whiteside posted the opening four points for UMass Dartmouth after going 4-for-4 at the line before fifth year
Kaylin Zalewski drained a triple to put the Corsairs up 9-2. After graduate student
Teja Andrews laid in her second basket of the game, the Spartans quickly answered, going on a 16-0 run to take a 20-11 lead approaching the final minute of the quarter. Graduate student
Jane McCauley disrupted the home team's momentum by knocking down her first three-pointer of the afternoon off the helper from Zalewski.
McCauley kicked off the second quarter with a layup followed by two made free throws to cut the Spartans lead down to 21-18. The Corsairs regained a 25-23 advantage thanks senior
Amaris Mills sinking a triple at the 8:14 mark. UMass Dartmouth extended their lead into double digits after generating a 10-2 run with Andrews contributing six of the 10 points for the Corsairs. With six seconds on the clock, fifth year
Jaelyn Lavigne drained a three-pointer to give UMass Dartmouth a 42-29 lead heading into halftime.
Andrews finished an and-one play to start the third quarter for UMass Dartmouth after Schuylar Nolan committed the foul. Whiteside produced the next four points, both coming from good layups, before Zalewski dropped her seventh point of the afternoon to put Corsairs ahead 51-33. Stasia Epler clipped in a three-pointer for Castleton, but Mills and junior
Melanie DeMeo each finished a basket to keep an 18-point edge over the Spartans. Entering the last two minutes of the quarter, junior
Kasey Oliver knocked down a triple and layup for her first five points of the game as the Corsairs took a 10-point lead into the final quarter.
Epler opened the fourth quarter with her third straight three-pointer for Castleton, but Mills quickly answered with a good jumper. McCauley kicked off a 7-0 run for UMass Dartmouth that was finished by a DeMeo layup to force a Spartan timeout with 7:42 left in the game. After Castleton strung five points together midway through the quarter, McCauley drained her fifth three-pointer of the game at the 5:14 mark to make it 80-66. In the last two minutes of the contest, respectively, Zalewski clipped in a triple soon followed by a late driving layup from sophomore
Shelby Companion to defeat Castleton on the road by a final score of 93-74.
McCauley posted a team-high 17 points in the win after going 5-for-11 from the field with three triples and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. She also grabbed three rebounds, two steals, one assist, and a block. Andrews posted 15 points making 7-of-10 attempts and one free throw along with a game-high five steals. Whiteside recorded her second double-double of the season after scoring 14 points (4-15 FG, 6-6 FT) and hauling in 12 rebounds, nine defensive and three offensive.
Zalewski also dropped 14 points in the afternoon, going 6-15 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers. Mills ended the game with 13 points (6-14 FG, 1-7 3-FG) along with three rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
The Corsairs face the Beacons of UMass Boston for their next Little East tilt on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The conference game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. tipoff from the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
