WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Heading into the final game of a four-game homestand and their final home game before the nearly three-week winter break, Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball squared off against UMass Dartmouth for the first time since the 2019-2020 season with a chance to get above the .500 mark for the first time during the 2021-2022 season in Geissler Gymnasium on Wednesday night. Behind a 27-point fourth quarter, matching their highest point total for a single quarter this season after doing so against Baruch College in the 1st quarter earlier this year, the Warriors (5-4, 2-0 LEC) came back from a four-point deficit to earn a 60-50 victory over the Corsairs (6-4, 0-1 LEC) and move to 2-0 in Little East Conference play this season.
Entering the season, the two teams were ranked back-to-back in the second and third spots when the Little East Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll emerged earlier this year with only three points of separation as Eastern garnered three first place votes to UMass Dartmouth's one first place vote.
The Warriors would jump out to an early 10-2 lead as senior Aiyana Ward (Waterbury) scored four points off of three UMass Dartmouth turnovers by sophomore guard Teja Andrews and senior forward Anna Barry (Andover) contributed a basket and two free throws. The Corsairs would respond with a quick 5-0 run to pull within three after a layup by junior guard Haley Reinold and senior guard Meagan Donovan's three-pointer off a steal by sophomore forward Jemima Joseph. A pair of baskets by senior guard Julie Keckler (Trumbull) and junior forward Mariah Dunn (Meriden) would allow Eastern to regain control before another by seven before UMass Dartmouth responded with two baskets of their own to cut the Warrior lead to three, 14-11, heading into the second. Entering the game, Eastern was 3-1 when leading after the first quarter.
A scoring drought that lasted 9:07 which carried over from the first quarter would allow the Corsairs to go on a 16-0 run and seize control of the game by eight points, 23-14, before two free throws by Keckler got the Warriors on the scoreboard in the second quarter. During the drought, Eastern committed 7 turnovers and was 0-for-12 from the field, it would take exactly 10 minutes before they would hit a shot from the floor when senior guard Danielle O'Brien (Rockland, MA) nailed a three-pointer amidst an 8-0 run for the Warriors that pulled them back to within one point. As the second drew to a close, Reinold would drain a three for UMass Dartmouth to bring their lead back up to four, 26-22 heading into the half. Eastern would finish the quarter shooting just 2-of-14 from the field and 1-for-5 from three. As a team, the Warriors would commit 14 first half turnovers while the Corsairs had 15 of their own in a first half that turned into a defensive battle for both Little East Conference teams.
Strong defensive play from both sides would result in an evenly matched third quarter as the neither team would be able to take control and run away with the game. UMass Dartmouth would lead by as many as seven points on three different occasions throughout the third as Teja scored five straight points for the Corsairs as time began winding down. Keckler would respond with three points of her own to close the frame as part of her seven-point quarter, but the Warriors would still trail by four, 37-33, with one quarter left to play. After a rough shooting performance in the second, Eastern responded with a 4-for-10 performance from the floor in the third while UMass Dartmouth finished 4-for-16 from the field and 1-for-8 from three.
Coming into the game, the Warriors were 0-3 when trailing after three quarters but relentless offensive pressure coupled with a 11-point fourth quarter by Keckler which included a 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line as part of an 8-for-11 shooting quarter from the free throw line for Eastern helped them take control of the game. The Warriors would take their first lead since a UMass Dartmouth three-pointer by Teja with 9:10 remaining knotted the game up at 14 all when Barry converted a layup in the paint with 5:27 left in regulation to put Eastern ahead 42-41.
From that point on, the Warriors would never trail again as they led by as many as six in the closing minutes before the Corsairs attempted to make one final push. After a layup by Donovan brought UMass Dartmouth within four with 1:03 left in regulation, O'Brien would hit a three as the shot clock wound down to put the dagger into the Corsairs as Eastern converted five of six free throws in the final minute to earn the 10-point win, 60-50, after outscoring UMass Dartmouth, 27-13 in the fourth.
Off the bench, Haley Reinold finished with a team-high and career-high 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting. The five made field goals and eight field goal attempts were career-highs for Reinold who also set career highs in blocks and assists with two each, five rebounds, and two made three-pointers on four attempts.
Julie Keckler led the team in point scoring for the eighth time this year, scoring 24 points, two points shy of breaking her career high in 33 minutes played. Keckler would finish the game shooting 6-for-18 from the floor and converting on 11-of-12 free throw attempts while also recording seven rebounds, a career-high six steals, and season-high six assists. Eastern is now 3-2 this season when Keckler scores 20+ points in the game.
The Warriors will head north for their final game before the winter break to face Plymouth State University in a Little East Conference matchup scheduled to take place Saturday at 1:00 PM in Foley Gymnasium. Eastern has won 18 consecutive games against the Panthers dating back to the 2011-2012 season when they lost in Geissler Gymnasium, 55-53. The 18-game win streak ties the Warriors longest win streak against Plymouth State which started during the 2003-2004 season and was snapped with that 55-53 loss. The two teams last met during the 2019-2020 season in which Eastern came away with a pair of decisive double-digit wins in the home and home Little East Conference games.