DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Paced by a season-high 17 points from
Kaila Pruitt, the UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team defeated Plymouth State University, 75-55, on Saturday afternoon during Little East Conference (LEC) action from the Tripp Athletic Center. The Corsairs improved to 3-4 in conference play with the victory while the Panthers dropped to a 1-6 Little East mark.
Senior guard
Melanie DeMeo put the Corsairs on the scoreboard with a driving layup off the feed from sophomore guard
Elizabeth Gresian. The home squad then took a 6-5 edge in the contest thanks to a basket apiece from graduate students
Yasmine Santos and
Kaila Pruitt. After Hailey Malozzi finished an and-one play for the Panthers, senior guard
Kasey Oliver drilled the first triple of the afternoon for UMass Dartmouth to regain a 9-8 lead. With 2:55 on the clock, first year guard
Carly McDonald posted a good jump shot to make it 13-10 Corsairs. Malozzi powered Plymouth State's offense with seven straight points to help the visitors take a 19-16 advantage into the second quarter.
Early in the second, Pruitt knocked down her first three-pointer off the assist from DeMeo to once again regain a one-point lead in the game. The Corsairs offense went on to generate a 9-2 run kicked off by a step back jumper from DeMeo and finished off with another triple from Pruitt to claim a 30-21 lead with 5:14 left in the half. The Panthers responded with six unanswered points to narrow UMass Dartmouth's advantage back down to 30-27 approaching the last four minutes of play. Senior guard
Cristina Negron and Pruitt each clipped in late triples for the Corsairs to hold a 38-32 lead over the Panthers at halftime.
The Corsairs started the third quarter with a 7-0 run featuring four points from DeMeo to extend their advantage 46-32. Pruitt drilled her second three-point shot of the quarter at the 5:18 mark followed by a good layup from McDonald to make it a 51-34 lead. UMass Dartmouth finished the quarter with a 54-36 edge thanks to a good basket from the free throw line by first year guard
Amanda Ebenezer.
The home team continued to capitalize early in the fourth, scoring six quick points in the opening two minutes of action to go up 60-38. After Santos made two free throws at the 7:38 mark, the Panthers answered with five points highlighted by a triple from Macy Swormstedt. DeMeo executed from the charity stripe going 6-for-6 to pull the Corsairs away with a 22-point lead approaching the last five minutes of the game. McDonald clipped in a three-pointer before first year
Jenna Micciantuono added four late points to seal UMass Dartmouth's home win by a final score of 75-55 from the Tripp Athletic Center.
Pruitt posted a season-high 17 points (6-13 FG) featuring a game-high five made triple (5-9) along with six boards, one steal, and a blocked shot. DeMeo dropped 16 points (4-9 FG, 8-10 FT) along with a team-high five assists and three rebounds. Santos also scored 16 points in the win, going 4-for-8 from the floor in addition to eight made free throws (8-10), five rebounds and one steal. McDonald finished the game with nine points (4-7 FG, 1-3 3FG) and recorded a defense board and one assist.
UMass Dartmouth travels to Keene State College for their next LEC match-up on Wednesday, January 21 scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
