DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Sophomore Megan Ronaghan (North Attleboro, Mass.) and senior Kelsey Garrity (Somerville, Mass.) combined for 43 points to lead the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to an 85-75 Little East Conference women's basketball victory over visiting intrastate rival University of Massachusetts Boston this evening inside the Tripp Athletic Center.
The Corsairs won for the fourth time in their past five games to raise their overall record to 11-4, while the Beacons had their three-game winning streak snapped to fall to 10-6.
UMass Dartmouth shot 47.2 percent (25-for-53) from the field, including 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from behind the three-point arc. The largest difference in the statistical column was the Corsairs' season-high output from the foul line, converting 87.1 percent (27-for-31) of their attempts, 20 more freebies than their visitors.
Ronaghan registered her fourth double-double of the season with a team-best 26 points and 10 rebounds. Garrity filled out the box score with 17 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists. Junior Beth Castantini (Newburyport, Mass.) chipped in with 16 points, while sophomore Bri Hochwarter (Attleboro, Mass.) scored 12 of her 14 points from long range. Junior Erin Fahey (Salem, Mass.) collected a team-high 12 boards to help the hosts narrowly edge their visitors on the glass, 39-38.
Freshman Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) poured in a career-high 28 points, on 11-for-24 from the floor, to lead three players in double digits in scoring. She scored 20 points in the second half to help the Beacons trim a 17-point deficit to two points (70-68) with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. Senior Kristen Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) and freshman Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) also recorded 16 points to round out the UMass Boston contingent in double figures.
The Beacons scored 10 of the opening 12 points to take their largest lead of the evening less than four minutes into regulation. Sophomore Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.) knocked down a jumper to stretch UMass Boston's lead to seven points (15-8) and force an UMass Dartmouth timeout.
Unfazed, UMass Dartmouth scored nine consecutive points out of the huddle to take its first advantage of the stanza, 17-15. Ronaghan ignited the surge with a layup, while Fahey capped the run with a jumper.
The subsequent five minutes featured five ties with neither team able to build a lead larger than one possession. The Corsairs gained the momentum over the final three minutes, utilizing a 12-2 run to close the half. Hochwarter drained a pair of trifectas to spark the surge, while Garrity gave the hosts their first double-digit lead of the night, 42-31, with 22 seconds left on the clock. UMass Dartmouth took a 42-33 lead into the intermission.
The Corsairs stormed out of the locker room, scoring the opening nine points to balloon their advantage to a game-high 18 points (51-33). Ronaghan was the catalyst with five points, including a traditional three-point play.
However, Geary began to assert herself on the offensive end of the court, keying an 8-0 run with the opening six points to trim the visitors' deficit to single digits (56-48) with 12:46 left on the clock.
UMass Dartmouth was able to withstand the visitors' first push of the second stanza, due in large part to Ronaghan's six straight points during a 70-second span to give the hosts a 70-62 lead.
Geary once again put the Beacons on her back, netting six consecutive points to whittle their deficit to one possession, 70-68, with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. The Corsairs would not let UMass Boston get any closer, as Hochwarter stemmed the tide with a triple and added a jumper to cap a quick 7-0 spurt. For the second-straight contest, Castantini sealed the victory from the charity stripe, converting her final six attempts to keep the Beacons at bay.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, when the Corsairs host Framingham State University in a non-conference contest.