PLYMOUTH, N.H.—Freshman guard Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) poured in a career-high 27 points and UMass Boston women's basketball (8-5, 2-2 Little East) used a 20-2 run to open the second half, en route to a 74-49 victory over host Plymouth State University (6-7, 0-4 Little East) Tuesday night at Foley Gymnasium.
A week after setting a new career-high with 26 points, Geary knocked down 9-of-13 field goal attempts, 4-of-5 3-pointers and all five of her free throws to fall one point shy of Olivia Murphy's (Canton, Mass.) team-high of 28 points earlier this year. Geary added five assists, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks, to help the Beacons improve to .500 in the Little East and in road contests (3-3).
Murphy was the only other Beacon to finish in double-figures, as the junior forward finished with 12 points and five rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting.
Senior Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) added six points and a team-high seven rebounds, while sophomore Shyanne Wellington (Springfield, Mass.) set a new career-high with four points in nine minutes off the bench.
Ace Lawrence (12 points) and Kayla Wyland (11 points) led the Panthers who dropped their 28th consecutive Little East Conference home contest.
After a close first half in which the Beacons never led by more than 10, UMass Boston opened the second half on a 20-2 run over the first 6:25 of the stanza.
UMass Boston knocked down 45.2 percent (28-of-62) of their field goal attempts and 6-of-15 (40 percent) of their 3-pointers. On the other side, the Beacons held Plymouth State to just 32.7 percent (17-of-52) from the field and 4-of-16 (25 percent) from behind the arc.
The Beacons also held commanding edges in rebounding (47-30), points in the paint (30-12) and points off turnovers (13-6).
UMass Boston struggled to get settled in over the opening six minutes, with Brittany Moore (Billerica, Mass.) giving UMass Boston a 10-8 advantage at 14:20 of the half. Plymouth State wouldn't go away though, as Avi Lawrence knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to give Plymouth State their second and final lead of the night at 16-14 with 7:17 to play.
That's when UMass Boston began to get things going, as the Beacons used a 12-2 run to take control of the game. Geary (eight points) and Murphy (four points) combined for all 12 Beacons' points during the stretch.
After the teams headed into the break with UMass Boston leading 31-22, the Beacons turned up the defensive pressure to start the second half to key their 20-2 run.
Despite struggling to get their own shots to fall, UMass Boston limited Plymouth State to just 1-of-8 shooting to start the second half, to help the Beacons go on their 20-2 run. Geary turned in a team-high seven points during the run, with freshman Raven Kelsey (Boston, Mass.) knocking down her second collegiate 3-pointer to cap off the rally, to make it 51-24 with 13:35 to play.
Neither side could make any headway from there, as the Beacons easily maintained their 20+ point advantage the rest of the way
UMass Boston will return to action Thursday night when they host intra-state rival Bridgewater State University at 5:30 p.m.