DANBURY, Conn.—Facing a 39-22 deficit at halftime, Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) and Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) keyed a massive second-half comeback, to lead sixth-seeded UMass Boston women's basketball past third-seeded Western Connecticut State University.
THE BASICS
#6 UMass Boston 70, #3 Western Connecticut State 62
(UMass Boston 15-11)
(Western Connecticut State 16-10)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beacons used a 28-11 third-quarter to even the score and then grabbed the lead with 7:42 to play and never relented, to earn the program's first-ever road Little East Conference victory.
With the win, the Beacons advance to play second-seeded Keene State College in the LEC Semifinals. On the other side, the Colonials saw their season come to an end at the hands of the Beacons for a second-straight year.
Geary, who did not play in the first half, was the spark the Beacons needed, as the reigning LEC Rookie of the Year dominated the Colonials. The sophomore guard poured in a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while playing the final 20 minutes. In three games against the Colonials this season, Geary averaged 24.66 points per game, to go along with 6.33 rebounds and 3.66 steals per game.
Murphy had a monster game of her own, as the senior extended her career for at least one more game, with 15 points and 15 rebounds. She scored the final five points of the game, knocking down 5-of-6 free throws and pulled down several key rebounds. In the win, Murphy went over 1,100 rebounds for her career (1,113) and ensured a 103rd collegiate game-which is one shy of Leanne Meninger's ('09) program-record mark of 104.
Sophomore Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) was the third and final Beacon in double-digits, as she added 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Freshman guard Ariana Rivera (Burlington, Mass.) chipped in with seven points and five rebounds in her first collegiate start.
Kaitlyn Labonte scored the first six points of the game for the Colonials and finished with a team-high 16 points. Jancy Sherwood (12 points) and Kayla Croswell (11 points) joined Labonte in double-figures.
After seeing their deficit creep to as many as 19 in the first half, UMass Boston used huge advantages in bench points and points in the paint to avoid the three-game season sweep. For the game, UMass Boston earned a 40-18 edge in bench points and a 40-16 advantage in points in the paint.
It was all Colonials early, as Labonte scored the first six points of the game and Western Connecticut State jumped out to a 15-6 lead after 10 minutes.
UMass Boston cut the deficit to 20-13 with 4:56 to play in the second, only to watch the Colonials close the half on a 19-9 run to grab a 39-22 halftime edge.
Labonte added a 3-pointer on the first possession of the third to push the lead to 20 (42-32), but it would be all Beacons from there.
Geary and Mathieu combined for a 17-0 run over the next 4:54, as the pair of sophomores could not be stopped. Mathieu opened the run with a layup and then Geary converted an and-one. The two players traded layups and then Geary drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 42-34. On the next possession Mathieu went 1-for-2 from the free throw, before Geary added a pair of free throws. Mathieu capped the 17-0 run with a layup, as the Beacons scored on nine of 10 possessions.
Western extended the lead back to seven with back-to-back buckets, but Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.) knocked down a running lay-in with 25 seconds left to tie the game at 50 heading into the fourth.
The Colonials grabbed the lead back for the final time on an Emily Dobson three-pointer (53-50), but the hosts couldn't stop the Beacons' wave.
Murphy knocked down a pair of lay-ins to give the Beacons their first lead of the game at 7:42. Geary and Mathieu added lay-ins of their own to make it 58-53 with 5:03 to play.
Western Connecticut cut the deficit to three at 62-59 and 65-62, but Murphy knocked down five of six free throws in the final 24 seconds to seal the win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With the win, UMass Boston improved to 3-26 all-time in Little East Conference Tournament play. After going 0-25 to start their program history, the Beacons have won three of four.
- UMass Boston improved to 12-38 all-time against Western Connecticut State.
- The Beacons earned a 50-27 edge in rebounds and 13-3 edge in second-chance points.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will look to get back to the Little East Conference Tournament Championship Game for a second-straight year, when they take on second-seeded Keene State College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. All games this weekend will be played at Eastern Connecticut State University's Geissler Gymnasium.