DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team defeated Eastern Connecticut State University, 67-59, on Wednesday night to secure their fifth Little East Conference (LEC) win of the season. The Corsairs improved to a 5-6 conference record and 8-12 overall with the home victory while the Warriors dropped to a 5-6 Little East mark.
Graduate student guard
Yasmine Santos put the Corsairs on the scoreboard with a layup to tie the score at 2-2 early in the contest. Senior guard
Melanie DeMeo tallied her first basket of the night to keep it knotted up at 4-all, but the Warriors scored five unanswered points to take a 9-5 edge. After Liv Cassesse buried a three-point shot for the visitors, first year guard
Carly McDonald responded with a triple off the feed from first year guard
Amanda Ebenezer to make it 12-8. The Warriors finished the quarter with five late points to take a 17-8 advantage into the second.
DeMeo kicked off the second quarter with a three-pointer to narrow Eastern Connecticut State's led to six points. The Corsairs soon generated a 10-0 run that was started by an and-one play from Santos and featured a triple by senior guard
Cristina Negron to tie the game at 21-apiece with 4:31 left in the half. After the visitors strung six straight points to go ahead 27-21, UMass Dartmouth closed out the quarter with a 7-0 run highlighted by two three-pointer from DeMeo to hold a 29-27 edge at halftime.
Eastern Connecticut State regained a 34-31 lead early in the third quarter thanks to a 6-2 run. Sophomore guard
Elizabeth Gresian posted a basket in the paint before Negron knocked down a triple to even the score at 36-all. Despite an and-one play from Santos and the fourth triple of the night by DeMeo, the game remained tied up at 42-42 entering the final quarter of play.
Both teams continued to exchange baskets in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter featuring a jump shot from graduate student guard
Kaila Pruitt. At the 6:45 mark, Pruitt drilled her first shot from distance followed by another three-pointer by DeMeo to claim a 51-48 lead. Oliver came alive for the Corsairs at the midway point of the quarter recording two steals and adding four free throws to help UMass Dartmouth pull away with a 57-51 advantage. The Warriors answered quickly by once again tying the score at 57-57 with under three minutes remaining in the contest. The Corsairs capitalized from the charity stripe late in the game going 8-for-8 to cement their fifth conference win against the Warriors by a final score of 67-59.
DeMeo dropped a game-high 25 points (7-12 FG, 6-6 FT) highlighted by five made three-pointers (5-7) against the Warriors. She also recorded four rebounds and a block in the win. Santos produced her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points (4-13 FG, 5-6 FT) and 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks and a pair of assists. Oliver posted game-highs with three steals and four assists for the Corsairs while also tallying six points (1-3 FG, 4-4 FT) and three boards. Negron also scored six points tonight (2-10 FG, 2-9 3FG) with one defensive rebound while Gresian recorded five points (2-7 FG, 1-2 FT) in addition to six boards, three assists, and two steals.
UMass Dartmouth travels to Plymouth State on Saturday, February 7 for their next LEC tilt scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. tipoff.
