Salem, Mass. – Kelsey Garrity (Somerville, Mass.) scored 20 points and added five rebounds, and five assists as UMass Dartmouth defeated Salem State 81-52 in women's basketball action at Twohig Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. The win propels the Corsairs to their seventh straight victory, and raises their record to 16-4. The Vikings, who were led by Rachael Carter' s (Merrimack, NH) 20 points and eight boards, slip to 2-16 on the year. Carter has now amassed 1,548 points and moved into 5th place on Salem State's career scoring list, passing former conference player of the year Terri Niles ('95-'99).

Carter opened up the game with five straight points to help the Vikings build an early lead. However, trailing 9-7, Garrity hit a layup that helped spur a 13-1 Corsairs' run as Bri Hochwarter (Attleboro, Mass.) accounted for eight of the points from the outside, which included two three-pointers. Suddenly facing a 22-10 deficit , Salem State turned up the pressure in the backcourt, and following three turnovers and a missed shot, the Vikings cut the lead to just six points, 22-16 as Savanah Spinney (Everett, MA) and Maggie Reilly (Worcester, MA) combined for eight straight points. A free throw by Reilly reduced the margin to just five, but a 9-1 run highlighted by four points from Erin Fahey (Salem, MA) and a three-pointer by Leah Douty (Framingham, MA) restored order, as UMass Dartmouth built a 37-27 halftime lead, despite shooting just 4-15 (26.7%) from behind the arc.

The Corsairs dominated the second half, led by Alicia Kutil (Franklin, MA), who had nine points despite being held scoreless in the first. UMass-Dartmouth quickly extended their lead to 17 points, 46-29 at the 17:33 mark, scoring nine straight points, culminating in a three-pointer by Colleen Kane (Arlington, MA). Salem State, which struggled offensively in the first half, shooting just 33.3% (10-30), continued their offensive woes in the second half, as the Vikings managed just seven second half field goals.

Taking advantage, the Corsairs held Salem State without a point for over four minutes in building a commanding 50-32 lead before Carter broke the streak with a layup at the 12:49 mark. The lead hovered around the 20-point margin as both teams lived at the free throw line as 45 fouls were called between the two teams.

UMass Dartmouth held Salem state to just five points over the final 4:02 before settling for an 81-52 victory. The Corsairs ended the game 18-25 (72%) from the line and outrebounded the Vikings 54-40.

Hochwarter finished with 14 points and Fahey added 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Corsairs, who earned 15 second chance points to just three for Salem State.

Spinney contributed nine points and seven boards for Salem State, which ended the game shooting 17-63 (27%) from the field.

Salem State will resume its game with Fitchburg State at home on Thursday at 5:30 after the game was called due to unplayable court conditions this past Saturday. UMass Dartmouth will host Southern Maine on Saturday, February 7th at 1:00 PM.