PLYMOUTH, N.H.—Behind a record-tying 13-made 3-pointers, UMass Boston women's basketball improved to 4-0 in Little East Conference play for the first time in program history on Wednesday night.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 77, Plymouth State University 54
(UMass Boston 13-1, Little East 4-0)
(Plymouth State 4-9, Little East 0-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beacons overcame a slow start in the first quarter to roll to their fourth-straight conference win and 12th-consecutive victory overall.
The Beacons passed the 1994-95 squad-that was the only other team in program history to have won three-straight games to open LEC play.
UMass Boston was able to pull away from the host Panthers due to their strong shooting from behind the arc. The Beacons knocked down 13 of 32 attempts from behind the arc (40.6 percent), tying their season and program record.
Senior point guard Lydia Vital (Cambridge, Mass.) put together her best offensive day as a Beacon. The senior transfer knocked down a career-high six 3-pointers (6-9) and tied her career-high with 20 points. She also tied for the game-high with five assists in 28 minutes of action.
Freshman Joie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) added 15 points, six rebounds, a career-high five steals and three assists. Senior Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) just missed out on a double-double, as she finished with 11 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
Plymouth State's Debra Morrill led the Panthers with a career-high 16 points, to go along with five assists and two steals. Jess Conant (14 points) and Brittany Roche (12 points) joined Morrill in double-figures.
The hosts kept the game competitive throughout the first half and even held the lead after the first quarter.
Despite three 3-pointers from Grassi in the first quarter, UMass Boston couldn't overcome a slow shooting start and trailed 17-15 after 10 minutes.
Vital gave the Beacons a brief lead (19-18) with a 3-pointer to open the second quarter, but UMass Boston wouldn't take the lead for good until midway through the quarter.
UMass Boston took the lead for good thanks to a 10-0 run over a 3:41 span. Tahjai Mazyck (Hamden, Conn.) tied the game at 24 with a 3-pointer and Grassi followed with a single made free throw to give the Beacons the lead. Whitney Fulton (Norwalk, Conn.) and Vital added baskets to give the visitors a 30-24 lead with 3:19 left in the half.
The Beacons scored the first five points out of halftime to earn their first double-digit lead of the game (37-26).
Plymouth State would never get closer than eight points the rest of the way, as the Beacons outscored the hosts 45-28 in the second half.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The Beacons knocked down 13 3-pointers for the third-time in program history and third time in the past two years. UMass Boston hit 13 3-pointers last year at Keene State College (12/10/16) and also knocked down 13 triples against Framingham State University on December 5, 2017.
- UMass Boston held Plymouth State to nine points in the second and fourth quarters. The Beacons held a 37-18 edge in those two quarters.
- With the win, UMass Boston snapped a two-game losing streak against the Panthers and improved to 21-48 all-time against Plymouth State.
- The Beacons have now recorded 75 or more points in three-straight games.
- UMass Boston's bench combined for a 22-5 edge in bench points. Fulton and Jalani Jackson (Brockton, Mass.) both outscored the Panthers bench by themselves, with both freshman finishing with seven points.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will play their third-straight road game on Saturday, when they travel to take on Western Connecticut State University at 1 p.m.