DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The nationally ranked No.23/25 UMass Dartmouth women's basketball clinched their 10
th consecutive Little East Conference (LEC) win of the season after defeating the Plymouth State University, 83-52, on Saturday afternoon from the Tripp Athletic Center. The Corsairs improved to an 18-2 overall record with the win over the Panthers who dropped to a 3-16 overall mark.
Plymouth State took a 7-6 lead after Raegan Peck drained a triple with 6:45 on the clock. UMass Dartmouth regained an 18-9 advantage after a 12-2 run highlighted by three-pointers from graduate student
Jane McCauley and fifth year
Jaelyn Lavigne. Junior
Melanie DeMeo and graduate student
Teja Andrews each finished a late layup to put the Corsairs up 22-10 at the end of the opening quarter.
The Corsairs continued to build their offense in the second as fifth year
Jemima Joseph posted five quick points to make it 29-13. Plymouth State made back-to-back triples midway through the quarter, but UMass Dartmouth maintained their double-digit lead outscoring their opponents 13-7 to take a 14-point edge heading into the break.
Senior
Amaris Mills kicked off the third quarter with a three-pointer off the feed from graduate student
Kaylin Zalewski to open a 9-0 run for the home team. Peck hit another triple with 4:33 on the clock before Zalewski quickly answered with a good driving layup to the rim. Jospeh and Zalewski tacked on a few more points to give UMass Dartmouth a commanding 63-39 lead entering the final quarter of the contest.
Andrews started the fourth strong for the Corsairs picking up a steal and finishing the fastbreak layup. Graduate student
Carly Whiteside and Zalewski each went 2-for-2 at the line before Zalewski knocked down a triple with 5:29 remaining in the game. Mills sank a shot from long range enroute to an 83-52 win to earn the Corsairs their 10
th consecutive league victory of the season.
Five Corsairs scored in double-figures combining for 61 of the 83 total points recorded in the win. Whiteside (4-7 FG, 5-5 FT) and Jospeh (6-8 FG, 1-2 3-FG) each posted 13 total points apiece with Whiteside earning her third consecutive double-double with 11 rebounds. Andrews went 5-of-7 from the floor for 12 points along with four boards, two steals, and a block. Mills also scored 12 points (4-7 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 2-6 FT) in the victory hauling in a pair of defensive rebounds, two steals, one assist, and a block. Zalewski rounded out the double-digit scoring for UMass Dartmouth with 11 points (4-10 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 2-2 FT).
UMass Dartmouth is on the road for their next league game against Rhode Island College on Wednesday, Feb. 5 starting at 5:30 p.m.
