KEENE, N.H. – The UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team fell on the road at Keene State College, 50-39, during midweek Little East Conference (LEC) action from the Spaulding Gymnasium. The Corsairs moved to a 3-5 Little East mark while the Owls improved to a 6-2 conference record.
The Corsairs grabbed an early 6-0 lead in the game after graduate student
Kaila Pruitt knocked down her first triple of the evening off the assist from senior guard
Melanie DeMeo. The Owls fought back with back-to-back three-pointers to claim their first advantage of the contest at 8-6 with 2:58 on the clock. After graduate student
Yasmine Santos finished her first basket to knot the score up at 8-apiece, UMass Dartmouth went on a 6-0 run to end the opening quarter with a 14-8 lead.
Santos posted two quick baskets in the second quarter to extend the Corsairs advantage into double-digits. First year guard
Amanda Ebenezer finished a driving layup at the 6:42 mark, good for her second basket of the game, to keep UMass Dartmouth ahead 20-10. After a quiet few minutes, Ebenezer went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe before sophomore guard
Elizabeth Gresian laid in a good basket to take a 25-13 lead with less than three minutes left in the half. Pruitt closed out the quarter with a late triple for the Corsairs to take a 28-21 edge into halftime.
Early in the third quarter, DeMeo drained a three-point shot to put UMass Dartmouth ahead 31-23 with 7:53 on the clock. After Ruby Dasaro added four points for the Owls, Santos answered with a good jumper to maintain a six-point advantage. At the 2:11 mark, senior guard
Cristina Negron drilled a triple followed by another three-point shot from DeMeo to regain a 10-point lead. Keene State battled back with a late 7-0 run to make it a one possession game entering the final quarter.
The Owls quickly tied the score up at 39-all thanks to a good three-point shot by Avery Stewart in the opening minute of play. Keene State continued to build momentum in the fourth quarter scoring 11 unanswered points to secure their sixth conference win of the season by a final score of 50-39.
DeMeo led the team with 10 points (3-7 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT) to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Santos finished the evening with eight points (4-19 FG) and hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds while also recording one assist and a steal. Pruitt scored seven points (2-12 FG, 2-9 3FG, 1-2 FT) and snagged boards. Ebenezer also wrapped up the game with seven points (2-5 FG, 3-4 FT) and grabbed a career-high six rebounds against the Owls.
UMass Dartmouth travels to VTSU Castleton for their next conference tilt on Saturday, January 24, slated for a 12:00 p.m. start time.
