PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team shouldered a tough loss in the opening game of Little East Conference (LEC) play at Rhode Island College, 71-70, on Wednesday evening. The Corsairs dropped to a 3-4 overall record and a 0-1 start to conference action while the Anchorwomen move to 6-2 overall and pick up their first LEC win of the season.
Graduate student guard
Yasmine Santos posted the first basket of the game for UMass Dartmouth to tie the score up 2-apiece in the opening minutes of conference action. After the Anchorwomen dropped six unanswered points to grab an 8-2 lead, Santos kicked off a 6-0 run with four points before graduate student guard
Kaila Pruitt finished a layup to even the game at 8-all. Trailing 14-9, senior guard
Kasey Oliver and Pruitt each drained a three-point shot to take a one-point edge over Rhode Island. UMass Dartmouth took a 19-18 lead into the second quarter thanks to a good jumper by senior guard
Melanie DeMeo along with a pair of free throws from Santos.
Abby Wagner knocked down a triple to wrap up a 7-2 run for the Anchorwomen and claim a 26-21 advantage with 6:01 left in the first half. DeMeo went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe before first year guard
Carly McDonald made a turnaround jump shot to make it a 31-29 game. Senior guard
Cristina Negron gave the Corsairs a one-point edge with her first three-pointer of the evening, but Eva Monahan finished an and-one play to put the home team up 36-34 at halftime.
Negron opened the third quarter for UMass Dartmouth with three points followed by a driving basket from Pruitt to cut Rhode Island's lead down to 42-39. With 6:26 on the clock, Oliver finished a layup for her seventh point of the contest off the feed from McDonald to make it a one-point game. The Corsairs tied the score up at 46-apiece thanks to a triple from Negron, her second of the evening, with Oliver credited with the assist. After the Anchorwomen battled back to regain a 52-48 lead, DeMeo dropped four late points to end the quarter knotted up at 52-52.
UMass Dartmouth started the final quarter strong with a 7-0 run that was finished off by an and-one play from McDonald to go ahead 59-52. Rhode Island answered quickly with seven straight points to once again even the game up at 59-all. Negron knocked down a pair of three-point shots for the Corsairs to pull away with a 67-63 edge approaching the final two minutes of the contest. DeMeo and Oliver each added points from the free throw line to make it a three-point game with 23 seconds remaining on the clock. Jaina Yekelchik capitalized on a late Corsair turnover with a fast break layup to make it a 70-69 game. With only three seconds left, Naima Bleou sealed Rhode Island's late comeback after making both free throws to win by a final score of 71-70.
DeMeo finished the game with a team-high 16 points (5-11 FG, 6-6 FT) to go along with five assists, three rebounds, and a pair of steals. Negron dropped 15 points (5-10 FG, 1-2 FT) including a game-high four triples (4-7) as well as six boards, one assist, and a steal. Santos recorded her second double-double with 15 points (4-12 FG, 7-8 FT) and 11 rebounds in addition to two assists and one steal. Pruitt wrapped up the contest with nine points (4-11 FG, 1-6 3FG) while also producing five rebounds and one steal.
UMass Dartmouth returns to Little East action on Saturday, December 6 hosting VTSU Castleton at 12:00 p.m. from the Tripp Athletic Center.
