CASTLETON, Vt. – Powered by 20-plus point performances from graduate student
Yasmine Santos and senior guard
Melanie DeMeo, the UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team edged VTSU Castleton, 78-73, on the road in Little East Conference action on Saturday afternoon. The Corsairs improved to a 4-5 conference record with the victory over the Spartans who dropped to a 1-8 Little East mark.
The Spartans snagged an early 6-2 lead in the opening minutes of action before graduate student guard
Yasmine Santos and senior guard
Melanie DeMeo each posted a basket apiece to tie the score up at 6-all. After Santos finished a driving layup to the rim to go ahead 10-8, Stasia Epler drained the first triple of the afternoon to regain a one-point advantage with 5:47 left on the clock. Trailing 17-12 in the first quarter, first year guard
Amanda Ebenezer laid in her first basket of the contest to make it a 17-14 game. Despite adding six late points in the last two minutes, the Spartans maintained a 26-22 edge heading into the second quarter.
After pulling away with a 32-24 lead early in the second quarter, first year guard
Carly McDonald knocked down a three-point shot to kick-start an 8-0 run that DeMeo finished off with a triple to even the score at 32-apiece. Santos produced four straight points followed by a good layup from McDonald to regain a 38-36 edge with 2:31 remaining in the half. UMass Dartmouth posted three points to close out the second quarter up 41-38.
The Corsairs opened the third quarter with a 12-0 run to take their largest lead of the afternoon at 53-38. DeMeo posted five points along with an assist in the run while sophomore guard
Elizabeth Gresian drained her first basket from beyond the arc to give the Corsairs a 15-point cushion. The Spartans quickly answered with a 14-0 run to make it a one-point game with under two minutes to go in the quarter. First year guard
Jillian Doherty laid in a basket in the paint to give the Corsairs a 55-52 edge entering the final quarter of the afternoon.
Santos finished two quick baskets to start the fourth quarter before McDonald clipped in her second triple of the game to go ahead 62-56. Both Santos and DeMeo each went 2-for-2 from the free throw line in a 6-0 run to extend their advantage to 68-56 with six minutes left in the contest. Shortly after VTSU Castleton connected six consecutive points to make it a six-point game, DeMeo answered with a good jump shot to hold a 70-62 lead. At the 2:24 mark, DeMeo drilled another triple to extend UMass Dartmouth's advantage to 75-67. Despite a late triple from Epler, the Corsairs held on to edge VTSU Castleton on the road and secure their fourth conference win by a final score of 78-73.
Santos led the squad with 28 points (10-19 FG, 8-10 FT) including nine rebounds, four steals, and one assist. DeMeo finished the game with 25 points (9-16 FG, 3-5 3FG, 4-4 FT) to go along with one rebound and an assist. McDonald also scored in double figures with a career-high 12 points (5-10 FG, 2-4 3FG) for the Corsairs in addition to four rebounds and a blocked shot. Senior guard
Kasey Oliver led UMass Dartmouth with a game-high five steals while Gresian dished out a team-high two assists.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Rhode Island College for their next conference tilt on Wednesday, January 28 starting at 5:30 p.m. from the Tripp Athletic Center.
