DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior All-America Anna Barry (Andover) led a balanced attack with her fourth double-double of the season as the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team outscored the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth by 17 points in the second half in a 65-43 Little East Conference victory Wednesday night at the Tripp Athletic Center.
Now 2-0 in the conference, Eastern (6-3) snapped a two-game losing streak at the hands of UMass (3-5, 0-1 LEC), which included a two-point road loss a year ago and a 67-57 LEC semifinal setback at Geissler Gymnasium.
Leading by six at halftime, Eastern outscored the Corsairs, 21-12 in the third quarter and 36-19 in all in the second half to record its 71st win over UMass in the 91-game series.
The Warriors outscored UMass, 17-3, at one point during the third quarter, with Barry scoring eight points and grabbing a handful of rebounds over those 10 minutes, and senior guard Julie Keckler (Trumbull) sinking two three-pointers in her eight-point quarter. Senior guard Danielle O'Brien (Rockland, MA) also sank a three-pointer and set up buckets by senior forward Mariah Dunn (Meriden) and Keckler that pushed the Eastern lead to 13, 45-32 midway through that third quarter. Barry scored the team's final six points of the third quarter as the Warriors took a 15-point, 51-36, into the final quarter.
Dunn, given an opportunity this year as a first-time starter, had 17 points (8-of-12 FG), seven rebounds and five assists in 35 minutes. Barry had 16 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks and just two turnovers in 35 minutes, and Keckler added 13 points six rebounds and three steals and senior guard Jenna Serrantino (Cromwell) eight rebounds.
It was a wire-to-wire victory for Eastern, with O'Brien and Keckler sinking three-pointers and Barry scoring on her own offensive rebound in the opening minutes that sparked a quick 8-0 lead. The Corsairs cut the gap to three by the end of the first quarter and made it a one-point game in the opening minute of the second quarter before Eastern followed with a 14-6 run that was capped by another O'Brien three-pointer and gave Eastern a nine-point 30-21 lead late in the quarter. UMass made one more run early in the third quarter that again sliced the Eastern lead to one, but Eastern reeled off eight straight points to begin a decisive 17-3 burst that put the game away.
Eastern turned the ball over more than 20 times (21) for the second time in three games but the Corsairs were able to capitalize with only nine points. The Warriors out-rebounded their opponent by +13 (48-35) for the second time in four games.
In last year's LEC tournament win for the Corsairs, first-team all-conference guard Jordan Moretti totalled 20 points and six rebounds. Wednesday, she was held to ten points on 4-of-12 shooting with six turnovers, although she had six steals and five rebounds in 35 minutes.
Eastern hosts Plymouth State University Saturday at 1 p.m. in a conference game.