DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by double-figure efforts from five different players, the UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team posted an 88-48 win over Keene State College in Little East action on Wednesday. The Corsairs improve to 9-13 overall and 6-7 in conference play, while the Owls are now 15-7 with a 9-4 mark in the LEC.
UMass Dartmouth shot an impressive 56.9% (33-58) from the floor and a solid 52.4% (11-21) from three-point range in the game. Grad student and guard
Yasmine Santos was 5-of-7 from the floor, dropping in 14 points with a team-high eight rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals. DeMeo was 4-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, dropping in 14 points of her own with three assists and a block.
Senior guard
Cristina Negron added 12 points, going 4-of-6 from three-point range, while rookie guard
Amanda Ebenezer posted 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Freshman forward
Jenna Micciantuono rounded out the double-figure efforts, recording 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting over seven minutes played.
The Corsairs came out firing in the first quarter as a jumper by Santos put the Corsairs up by a 14-5 margin at 3:15. The grad student helped the home team keep pace, widening the gap to 11 (17-6) minutes later with another shot inside. A jumper from Keene's Ruby Dasaro narrowed the score to 10 (19-9), but a layup from Ebenezer saw UMD take a 21-9 lead into the second quarter.
UMass Dartmouth continued to build as a three-pointer from Negron at 7:18 opened an 18-point (30-12) lead. The Owls countered with a trey of their own from Kiley Bundy, but back-to-back layups from senior guard
Kasey Oliver saw the Corsairs push back out to a 19-point advantage (34-15) with 4:32 remaining.
A pair of free throw makes by Santos saw the margin grow to 20 (42-22) with 14 seconds to go, but a three-pointer from Keene's Brynn Rautiola sent the teams into halftime with a 42-25 score in favor of the home team.
Out of the break, the Corsairs returned and went on a 9-0 run, including three's from DeMeo and guard
Kaila Pruitt, to make it a 60-29 contest with 3:06 to play in the third quarter. Back-to-back shots from Santos, coupled with a trey from Pruitt gave UMD the 67-33 lead after three quarters of play.
In the fourth quarter, the Corsairs went on another run to open the frame – this time an 8-0 mark capped by a layup from Micciantuono – to make it a 75-33 game with 6:22 remaining. The Owls saw nine consecutive points come from Bella Schultz-Mitchell in the latter half of the quarter, but the Corsairs continued to keep pace as Micciantuono dropped in back-to-back shots to help close out the 88-48 win for UMD.
UMass Dartmouth, which posted 26 points off turnovers and 40 points off the bench, returns to action on Saturday. The Corsairs host Southern Maine at 1pm, which will celebrate Senior Day for four graduating Corsairs.
