DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior Kelsey Garrity (Somerville, Mass.) and sophomore Megan Ronaghan (North Attleboro, Mass.) each produced a double-double to lead the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to a 76-41 Little East Conference victory over visiting Plymouth State University this afternoon in a NCAA Division III women's basketball contest inside the Tripp Athletic Center.

The Corsairs led wire-to-wire to capture their fourth straight victory and improve to 13-4 overall and 6-1 in the conference circuit.  The Panthers suffered their fifth consecutive setback to fall to 6-10 and 0-7.  UMass Dartmouth's win coupled with Rhode Island College victory at Eastern Connecticut pushed the Corsairs into sole possession of first place in the Little East field.

UMass Dartmouth shot 43.8 percent (28-for-64) from the field, while limiting Plymouth State to just 26.3 percent (15-for-57) from the field.  The Corsairs held a decisive 22-rebound advantage on the glass (53-31) and forced the Panthers into 17 turnovers compared to 15 of their own.

Garrity piloted the UMass Dartmouth offensive attack, nearly posting a triple-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.  Ronaghan was the only other Corsair to reach double-figures in scoring with a game-high 19 points, while matching Garrity's production on the boards.  Junior Marisa McCabe (Cedar Grove, N.J.) contributed a season-high eight points off the bench.

Senior Tiffany Lewis (Hillsboro, N.H.) paced the Panthers with eight points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Madison Beatrice (Newton, Mass.) tallied seven points.

UMass Dartmouth scored the first six points to open the contest, but Plymouth State responded with five of the following seven to cut its deficit to 8-5.  Senior Erin Fahey (Salem, Mass.) knocked down consecutive baskets to extend the Corsairs lead to three possessions (12-5).  However, the Panthers answered with a quick 5-0 run, capped by a senior Kelley Collins (Groveton, N.H.) lay-up, to trim their disadvantage to three points.

Undeterred, McCabe drained her first three-pointer of the afternoon to close out a 6-0 spurt and build the lead back to nine points (18-9) with six and a half minutes remaining in the stanza.  Plymouth State scored the next four points, but UMass Dartmouth broke open the contest with a 15-2 run to close the half.  Ronaghan converted a traditional three-point play, while sophomore Bri Hochwarter (Attleboro, Mass.) bookended triples between a Garrity lay-up.  The Corsairs entered the intermission with their largest lead of the frame at 33-15. 

Ronaghan registered a lay-up to open the second half and give UMass Dartmouth a 20-point advantage.  The Corsairs would never let their lead dip below 20 points for the remainder of the contest, while ballooning their advantage to a game-high 35 points on the final basket of the afternoon.   

UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27, when the Corsairs host Little East Conference rival Rhode Island College (6-11, 4-3 LEC).