Boston, Mass.-Freshman forward Christian McDuffy (Brockton, MA) finished with a game-high 14 points to lead the Rhode Island College women's basketball to a 55-44 victory over UMass Boston on Saturday afternoon in Little East Conference action at the Clark Athletic Center.

Rhode Island College (14-5, 8-1 LEC) extends its winning streak to eight straight games and has won 11 of its last 12 tilts. The first-place Anchorwomen have won by double-digits in nine of those 11 contests and have lost just once, against No. 3 Amherst College on Jan. 7, since falling to Eastern Connecticut in overtime on Dec. 7.

McDuffy went 7-of-12 from the floor and chipped in with four rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes off the bench to help RIC seal the regular season-sweep of UMass Boston (11-8, 3-6 LEC), while senior forward Cara Paladino (Arlington, MA) posted 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. The Anchorwomen forced the Beacons into 20 turnovers and recorded 11 steals as a team, while committing just 11 turnovers of their own. RIC chalked up a whopping 23 points off turnovers in the win.

Senior guard Stephanie Prusko (Lincoln, RI) registered 11 points and three assists for the visitors, while sophomore forward Vandell Andrade (Providence, RI) scored six points and gathered seven rebounds to go along with three blocks and two steals. Freshman guard Alex Moore (West Newbury, MA) dished out a team-high four assists and added seven points, three rebounds, and two steals in the win.

UMass Boston was led by junior center Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, MA), who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Sophomore forward Olivia Murphy (Canton, MA), the conference's leading scorer, was held to six points on 3-of-9 shooting, but managed to corral 11 rebounds and added a pair of blocks.

Meanwhile, senior guard Andrea Suffredini (Milford, MA) scored eight points and added four rebounds for UMB, while freshman guard Mallory Nelson (Topsham, ME) contributed with seven points, three assists, and two blocks.  

Rhode Island College led the entire way in the contest after jumping out to an early, 9-0, advantage. Prusko started the run with a big three-pointer, followed by three-straight layups to make it, 9-0. The Beacons managed to cut the deficit to as few as five at the 12:11 mark, but that would be as close as UMass Boston would come in the first stanza. Rhode Island College took a 29-18 lead into the break behind 14 points off UMass Boston turnovers.

Freshman guard Chantel Jordan (Brockton, MA) led a big Beacons' flurry out of the break, as UMass Boston scored 10 of the first 12 points to start the second half. Morrison started the run with a layup and Jordan added four points in a row, two free throws and a layup, to cut the deficit to seven, 31-24. The Beacons kept it going with a jumper from Suffredini and a layup from Murphy to make it a three-point game, 31-28, with 15:28 on the clock. 

The next defensive possession proved pivotal as the Beacons blocked a pair of shots but allowed four offensive rebounds, with McDuffy finally knocking down a layup off of an inbounds play. McDuffy's basket turned the tide, as the Anchorwomen went on a 7-0 run to grab a 10-point lead, 38-28, at the 13:54 mark and led by two-possessions the rest of the way.

The Anchorwomen shot 40 percent (25-for-62) from the field and 29 percent (4-for-14) from downtown, but shot at a paltry 13 percent (1-for-8) clip from the free throw line.

The Beacons shot 38 percent (18-for-48) from the floor and 67 percent (8-for-12) from the free throw line, but went just 0-for-3 from beyond the arc on the afternoon.

RIC also outrebounded UMass Boston, 37-35, and gathered 16 offensive rebounds on the day.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College returns home to host No. 6 Tufts University at The Murray Center on Tuesday, Feb. 4 (7 p.m.).