WESTON, Mass. -- Sophomore Lauren Empey (Middleboro, Mass.) scored a career-high 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and recorded five blocked shots to lead four players in double figures as UMass Dartmouth notched its 10th win of the season with an 86-58 non-league college women's basketball victory over Regis Thursday evening on Higgins Court.
The visiting Corsairs (10-2), winners of four of their last five outings overall, jumped out to a 21-15 advantage after the first quarter of play, but the host Pride (3-8) scored nine of the first 11 points in the second stanza to take a 24-23 edge on junior Taylor Iorfino's (Monroe, Conn.) free throw with 7:55 to play in the half. Junior Ashley Brown's (New Bedford, Mass.) three-pointer on the ensuing possession gave UMass Dartmouth the lead for good and ignited a 22-8 run to close the half, as the visitors grabbed a 45-32 edge at the break.
Regis cut its deficit to six (49-43) with an 11-4 run in the opening 3:26 after intermission on a three-pointer by freshman Marissa Prall (Hopkinton, Mass.), but the Corsairs regained a double-digit lead by scoring 14 of the final 20 points of the quarter to take a 63-49 advantage into the final 10 minutes of action. UMass Dartmouth iced its triumph by outscoring the hosts 23-9 in that fourth quarter, as Empey and seniors Nakira Examond (New Bedford, Mass.) and Jess Korzec (West Brookfield, Mass.) combined for 17 points in that frame.
Examond finished with 15 points to top the 1,400 career point plateau on the night for the Corsairs, as she added eight rebounds and a pair of blocks in the triumph. Korzec also collected 15 points, five boards, three steals and two assists for the winners, who received 10 points off the bench from freshman Shaelyn Carreiro (Fall River, Mass.). Brown and fellow junior Kayla McMahon (Hanover, Mass.) each added nine points and three caroms for UMass Dartmouth, which shot an even 50 percent (35-70) from the field and connected for six three-pointers while holding a 40-37 rebounding advantage.
Prall led a quartet in double figures with 15 points (including four three-pointers) in the setback for Regis, which received 11 points and eight rebounds from Iorfino as well as 11 points and seven boards from senior Sam D'Angelo (Woburn, Mass.). Junior Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points on the night for the Pride, which received seven points from sophomore Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) in shooting 35 percent (20-58) from the floor overall. The hosts hurt themselves with 21 turnovers that were converted into 26 Corsair points.
UMass Dartmouth hosts UMass Boston in a Little East Conference outing on Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center that tips-off at 1:00 pm, while Regis heads to Leicester, Mass. to square off with Becker in a non-league clash on Saturday afternoon that also tips-off at 1:00 pm.