PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The nationally ranked No. 21/24 UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team secured their 11th consecutive Little East Conference (LEC) win on Wednesday evening at Rhode Island College by a final score of 74-66 from The Murray Center. The Corsairs are now 11-0 in LEC action and 18-2 overall on the season while the Anchorwomen dropped to a 10-2 league record.
Fifth year
Kaylin Zalewski knocked down a triple to open the scoring of the game in the first minute of play. The Corsairs soon extended their lead to 9-2 with graduate student
Teja Andrews posting her first four points of the contest. About a minute later, graduate student
Jane McCauley drained a three-pointer off the feed from Andrews at the 4:12 mark to make it a 12-5 game. Senior
Amaris Mills and McCauley each clipped in a shot from long range in the last two minutes of the opening quarter to give UMass Dartmouth a 20-9 advantage at the end of the first.
Early in the second, junior
Melanie DeMeo continued to push the Corsairs offense by finishing a driving layup. After Rhode Island connected five points together, graduate student
Carly Whiteside hit a jumper to put the visitors ahead 25-14. The Anchorwomen kept fighting going on an 8-2 run midway through the quarter to narrow the Corsairs lead down to six points. UMass Dartmouth answered with a 6-0 run late in the second featuring four points from Whiteside to give the team a 36-26 edge heading into halftime.
UMass Dartmouth kept their foot on the gas to start the third, generating an 8-2 run to claim their largest lead of the game at 16 points. Shortly after DeMeo and Whiteside each posted a bucket to maintain their 16-point cushion, Andrews sank a triple with 5:09 on the clock to make it 52-37. Madison Medbury responded for Rhode Island by hitting a three-pointer, but the Corsairs took a 56-44 advantage entering the final quarter of the game.
After a quiet start to the fourth, Andrews stole the ball from Meagan Schuermann and finished a fastbreak layup to kick off the scoring in the final quarter. With 6:03 on the clock, Zalewski knocked down a shot from long range off the helper from DeMeo to make it 63-49. The Anchorwomen then strung five consecutive points together, but McCauley soon answered with her third three-pointer of the evening. Despite a late push by Rhode Island, UMass Dartmouth cemented their road win, 74-66, to earn their 11
th consecutive Little East victory of the season.
Andrews led the squad with her 21-point game making 8-of-14 shots for a 57.1 shooting percentage and recorded a season-high six steals. The veteran captain also posted six rebounds, six assists, and a pair of blocks in the win. Whiteside wrapped up the contest with 15 points going 6-of-9 from the floor for a 66.7 shooting percentage with four rebounds, one assist, and a block. McCauley ended the game with 12 points highlighted by making 3-of-5 three-point shots along with 3-of-4 shots from the line. Zalewski scored 11 points (4-9 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 1-4 FT) for the Corsairs and hauled in a team-high seven boards. DeMeo also recorded in double digits with 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-4 FT) to go along with four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
UMass Dartmouth return home for their next Little East tilt hosting Vermont State University Castleton on Saturday, Feb. 8 starting at 12:00 p.m. from the Tripp Athletic Center.
