BOSTON, Mass.—Olivia Murphy recorded 14 points and 18 rebounds to become the third player in UMass Boston women's basketball history to reach 1,000 rebounds, as the Beacons slipped past Plymouth State University 57-56.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 57, Plymouth State 56
(UMass Boston 9-5, Little East 2-2)
(Plymouth State 6-8, Little East 0-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Murphy recorded her 1,000th career rebound on an offensive rebound with 6:21 to play in the third quarter, to join Andreen Gilpin ('03) and Eileen Fenton ('91) in the program's 1,000 points, 1,000 rebound club. With her 13th double in 14 games, Murphy sits in fourth place in program history with her 1,377 career points and third with her 1,002 rebounds.
After Murphy reached the mark midway through the third quarter, the Beacons still had plenty of work left to do, in putting the Panthers away.
Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.), Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) and Raven Kelsey (Boston, Mass.) all played a big part in the win, as they each finished in double-figures. Burston finished with four 3-pointers and 13 points, while Geary added 11 points and seven rebounds. Off the bench, Kelsey totaled 12 points and eight rebounds, including scoring seven of the Beacons' 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Kayla Wyland led the charge for Plymouth State with 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Ace Lawrence chipped in with 10 points, while Savannah Miller added seven points, five assists and five steals in the losing effort.
UMass Boston led for the majority of the first three quarters, but despite edging out to two nine-point leads, the Beacons could never put the Panthers away.
With the Beacons leading by seven with 3:44 to go in the third, Plymouth State closed out the quarter on an 8-0 run to take the first lead of the game. After baskets from Madison Beatrice and Annaliese Schmidt cut the deficit to three, Emerson Cassidy scored the final four points of the quarter to give Plymouth State a 44-43 lead.
Kelsey opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws, but Beatrice gave Plymouth State the lead right back with a three pointer at the 6:37 mark. The Panthers took their largest lead of the game at 49-46 on a Wyland lay-in, but Kelsey evened the game with a huge three-pointer at 4:19.
From there the two teams combined for four lead changes and three ties, with sophomore Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) sparking the Beacons with a big three.
With the game tied at 56-56 and under a minute to play, Geary drew a blocking call on Plymouth State and hit one free throw to make it 57-56 with 30 seconds left. On the final possession, Lawrence missed a jump shot from the far wing and Kelsey pulled down the rebound to seal the victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Murphy is averaging a career-high 18.5 points and 15.0 rebounds per game in her senior season. The senior forward has now posted double-doubles in 53 of her 90 career contests. She needs just four points on Saturday to pass Gilpin for third-place all-time in program history.
- UMass Boston earned a 45-28 advantage on the glass and a 20-7 edge in second-chance points.
- The Beacons have won 10 of their past 11 games against the Panthers, including three in a row. Plymouth State leads the all-time series 44-19.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will travel to Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday at 1 p.m., in a Little East Conference Championship Game rematch.