BOSTON, Mass.—Junior Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) bounced back with a monster double-double of 18 points and 18 rebounds, to spur UMass Boston women's basketball's (11-6, 4-3 Little East) 75-56 victory over Keene State College (9-8, 2-5 Little East) Sunday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium. 

One game after failing to score for the first time in her career, Murphy recorded a double-double in the first half alone, and finished tied for the game-high with 18 points. She knocked down 7-of-16 shots and added a team-high six offensive boards and two blocks.

Freshman Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) also ended the day with 18 points, as the freshman poured in a dozen of her points in the second half. She knocked down 9-of-12 free throws, to go along with her five rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.

Sophomore guard Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.) added 12 points and a team-high four assists, while senior Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) was the final Beacon in double-figures with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Christan Wotjas led Keene State with 18 points and three of the team's four made 3-pointers, while Courtney Roberts chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds.

After being outscored 27-7 from the charity stripe on Tuesday, the Beacons knocked down 24-of-32 (75 percent) of their free throw attempts and earned a 24-8 edge over Keene State in points from the line. 

Despite controlling the game for over 35 minutes, head coach Courtney Mattingly's squad had to show off their resiliency in the second half, when Keene State all but erased the Beacons' big lead.

The Beacons were able to pull off the season-split, by holding the Owls to just 33.3 percent (22-of-66) shooting from the field and 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) shooting from distance. On the other side, UMass Boston ended the game shooting 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field, a 16-percent improvement from the team's first meeting in which Keene State handed the Beacons a 58-47 loss.

UMass Boston also held a big advantage on the boards (44-34) and a 32-22 edge in points in the paint.

Keene State opened the game with a 6-2 run in the opening 4:21 to earn their first and only lead of the game.

The Beacons answered with an 8-0 run to take the lead for good, as Murphy responded with a layup and Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) and Burston knocked down back-to-back threes. UMass Boston would keep extending their advantage as they held Keene State to just one field goal over a 9:36 span, while pushing their lead to 18-8.

After Keene State went into a full-court press trying to get back into the game, UMass Boston took their largest lead of the half in the final two minutes, thanks to three straight layups from Murphy and a pair of free throws from Geary. The hosts took a 33-18 advantage into the break and Murphy tied the Beacons' biggest lead of the day with a free throw to make it 34-18 to begin the second half.

That's when Keene State made their first and only big run of the game. Wotjas went on a personal 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 34-25 and that was just the start. Kelsey Cognetta, the team's leading scorer, sandwiched a pair of baskets around a Stephanie D'Annolfo lay-in to cap off a 13-0 Owls run. 

After Murphy and Roberts traded baskets, Sandi Purcell knocked down a huge 3-pointer to cut the Beacons' lead to just 37-36 with 13:09 to play. Roberts would add another layup, after a Nelson basket to cut it to one at 39-38, but that would be as close as Keene State would get all afternoon. 

Directly after the 18-3 Owls flurry, UMass Boston with a 16-5 run to put the game out of reach for good. Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.) started the stretch by putting home her own rebound and Geary quickly followed with her first 3-pointer of the day.

After the teams traded baskets on the next two possessions, UMass Boston put the game away with an 8-0 run over a 2-minute span to make it 57-45 in favor of the hosts with 6:15 to play. Geary and Burston combined for all eight of the points, with the two combining to hit six of eight free throws during the stretch.

UMass Boston will return to action Tuesday night at 7 p.m., when they host the University of Southern Maine.