BOSTON, Mass.— Winners of their last two games before the Thanksgiving break, Mount Ida's women's basketball team travelled to UMass Boston on Tuesday evening and suffered a 79-41 defeat at the hands of the Beacons at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) registered a program-record tying 33 points and 14 different players scored to lead UMass Boston (4-1), while Mount Ida (2-5) was led by ten points apiece by Abbey Fedigan (New Fairfield, Conn.) and Angelique Martinez (Taunton, Mass.).
Martinez added a team-high nine rebounds for the Mustangs, tied for the team lead with Jenn Rafuse (Brockton, Mass.), who had nine points, though the Green and White shot just 29% from the field on the night.
Murphy enjoyed one of the most efficient games in UMass Boston history, knocking down a program-record 15 made field goals on just 22 attempts and tying the school record for points in just 26 minutes of play. She also added 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double in five games.
Beacons' junior Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) recorded a season-high eight points and six rebounds off the bench, while senior Shelby Buck (Greenfield, Mass.) knocked down two three-pointers.
Point guard Lauren Perra (Taunton, Mass.) added seven assists and freshman Shyanne Wellington (Springfield, Mass.) recorded the first points of her career with a late basket, and also chipped in with five rebounds.
For the Mustangs, Katlyn Jesse (Marshfield, Mass.) led the way with four assists to go with her eight points and a steal.
Rafuse had three steals and three blocks, while Martinez also swatted three shot attempts.
The Mustangs were held to just 21.4 percent (6-of-28) shooting from the field in the second half while the Beacons knocked down 43.1 percent of their shots for the game.
UMass Boston jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the first 3:08, as Elisa Ogawa (Yamanashi, Japan) and Murphy knocked down layups, before Perra drained one of the Beacons' five 3-pointers on the day.
The Mustangs managed to cut it to three points, but a 15-4 run powered by six points apiece from Murphy and Buck helped the Beacons open up a 24-10 lead. UMass Boston would head into the break with a 38-24 advantage.
They opened the second half with another flurry, as Murphy recorded 13 of the Beacons' first 15 points to push the lead to 53-30 at the 12:41 mark.
Mount Ida will return to their home court on Thursday night when they host Fisher in a non-conference game at 6:00 pm. That game will be available for Mustangs fans to watch live on gnac.ezstream.com.
The Beacons will open Little East Conference (LEC) play Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host Keene State College.