DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior captain Kelsey Garrity (Somerville, Mass.) became the ninth University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's basketball player to reach the 1,000-point milestone, leading the Corsairs to an 83-65 Little East Conference victory over visiting Rhode Island College this evening inside the Tripp Athletic Center.
Garrity eclipsed the 1,000-point threshold by scoring the second most points of her career. The Somerville, Mass. product registered 15 of her team-high 26 points in the second half to raise her career scoring total to 1,001. Garrity joined the exclusive century club by converting a free throw with 12 seconds remaining in regulation. She nearly posted a double-double with nine boards, while also handing out four assists.
UMass Dartmouth (14-4) captured its fifth consecutive win to remain atop the conference standings with a 7-1 mark. The Anchorwomen (6-12) evened their Little East Conference record at 4-4.
Alongside a solid performance from Garrity, sophomore forward Megan Ronaghan (North Attleboro, Mass.) tallied 19 points, on 8-for-10 from the floor, and pulled in six boards. Freshman forward Alicia Kutil (Franklin, Mass.) also reached double figures in scoring with 17 points along with two blocks, while senior Erin Fahey (Salem, Mass.) collected a game-high13 caroms.
For the visitors, junior forward Devin Hill (Danielson, Conn.) tallied a game-high 27 points, on 11-of-20 shooting, while also pulling down seven rebounds. RIC sophomore guard Alex Moore (West Newbury, Mass.) and freshman Jess Korzec (West Brookfield, Mass.) combined for 24 points and 13 boards to aid the Anchorwomen's offensive attack.
UMass Dartmouth never trailed the entire contest, building a game-high 21-point lead following a Garrity trifecta with just under five minutes to go in the first half. The visitors finished the opening stanza on an 8-2 run to cut the Corsair advantage down to 13 points (39-26), heading into the intermission. UMass Dartmouth dominated the paint first half, scoring 25 of its 39 points down low.
Rhode Island College opened the second half with a 9-2 run to whittle its deficit to six points (41-35), the closest the visitors had been since the 11:30 mark in the first stanza. Hill capped the surge with a lay-up. However, the Corsairs managed to keep the Anchorwomen at an arm's length for the next nine minutes, watching their lead hover around double digits.
Leading by just six points (59-53), Kutil registered seven consectutive points, capped by a triple, to extend UMass Dartmouth's advantage to 13 points with five minutes, 18 seconds remaining in regulation. Rhode Island College would trim its deficit to single digits twice down the stretch, but the Corsairs used a mini 5-0 run to dash any hopes of an Anchorwomen comeback.
With the game in hand, the only remaining question in balance was whether or not Garrity would be able to reach the milestone in front of her home crowd. Garrity asserted herself on the offensive end, scoring nine points within the final two minutes of regulation to join the exclusive club.
The Corsairs shot 47.0 percent (31-for-66) from the field, while limiting Rhode Island College to 35.7 percent (25-for-70). UMass Dartmouth dominated the glass (54-36), but the Anchorwomen remained within striking distance by forcing 23 turnovers compared to just 16 of their own.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31, when the Corsairs travel to Western Connecticut State University (11-6, 3-5) for the first game of a Little East Conference doubleheader. The Corsairs won the opening game of the season series, 61-46, in Dartmouth, Mass. on Jan. 8.