KEENE, N.H. – The nationally ranked No. 24/RV UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team were bested by Keene State College on the road during a Little East Conference (LEC) tilt Wednesday evening. The Corsairs dropped to a 13-2 conference record with the loss while the Owls improved to a 7-7 mark in the Little East.
The Owls jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead thanks to Valerie Luizzi posting five of the seven points in the opening minutes of action. Fifth year guard
Kaylin Zalewski put the Corsairs on the scoreboard after clipping in a triple off the feed from graduate student forward
Carly Whiteside. UMass Dartmouth continued to build their offense, going on a 7-0 run finished off by a three-pointer from senior guard
Amaris Mills to give the Corsairs their first lead of the evening. Brynn Rautiola answered for Keene State with a triple to tie the game up at 10-apeice, however neither team was able to convert a bucket for the remainder of the opening quarter.
Graduate student guard
Teja Andrews stole the ball away from Ruby Dasaro before finishing the fastbreak layup to kick off the second quarter of the contest. After the Owls went ahead 14-12, sophomore guard
Shelby Companion knocked down a jumper at the 7:51 mark to even the score up again. Keen State finished a pair of buckets to pull away with an 18-14 edge until Mills drained back-to-back triples for UMass Dartmouth to claim a 20-18 advantage. The Owls quickly responded by regaining a five-point lead approaching the last two minutes of the first half, respectively, thanks to a 7-0 run. Mills and Andrews each posted late buckets for the Corsairs to cut the Owls lead down to 25-24 at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Dasaro completed an and-one play for Keene State to put the home team up 30-26. Whiteside then answered with a tough layup before the Owls generated a 6-0 run to take back a 36-28 advantage to force a UMass Dartmouth timeout. Junior guard
Melanie DeMeo and Mills each posted a bucket following the timeout to narrow Keene State's advantage to four points. At the 2:38 mark, Samantha Lee finished both free throws for the Owls to give the home side their largest lead of the evening at nine points. UMass Dartmouth fought back to make it 46-42 game heading into the final quarter thanks to a late triple by DeMeo.
After Whiteside opened the fourth quarter with a good layup, Mills banked in her fourth three-pointer of the contest to reduce the Owls lead to just one-point. Fifth year
Jemima Joseph kicked off an 8-2 run for the Corsairs scoring the opening five points before DeMeo knocked down a shot from behind the arc to give UMass Dartmouth a 55-52 lead with 5:04 on the clock. For the next three minutes, respectively, Keene State capitalized from the charity stripe going 11-for-12 during a 15-1 run to take a 67-56 cushion with 34 seconds left in the game. Whiteside clipped in a late triple for the Corsairs, but the Owls secured the home victory by a final score of 71-61.
Mills ended the game with 16 points (6-22 FG, 4-15 3-FG) for the Corsairs hauling in six rebounds and dishing out five assists. Andrews wrapped up the contest with 12 points going 6-for-10 from the floor to go along with a team-high seven boards and five steals. Whiteside also scored in double figures with 11 points (4-10 FG, 1-4 3-FG, 2-2 FT) with five rebounds, three assists, and a pair of blocks. DeMeo (3-7 FG, 2-5 3-FG) and Joseph (3-6 FG, 2-5 FT) each registered eight points apiece for UMass Dartmouth combining for five boards.
UMass Dartmouth returns home for the final regular season game of the 2024-25 campaign hosting Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Corsairs will honor seven graduating student-athletes prior to the 1:00 p.m. tipoff during the Senior Day ceremony from the Tripp Athletic Center.
