WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior guard Jeniyah Jones scored nine points in less than two minutes early in the fourth quarter that turned a four-point Rhode Island College deficit into a five-point lead and sparking a run of 14 straight points that lifted second-seeded Rhode Island College to a 61-52 win over top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University that produced the program's third straight Little East Conference women's basketball championship Saturday at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
Jones, who was 0-for-4 in the first half, helped Rhode Island (24-3) score 26 fourth-quarter points that snapped a 35-35 tie heading into the final ten minutes and made the Anchorwomen the first LEC team since the University of Southern Maine in 2007 to win as many as three consecutive titles. That year, USM won the last of 11 straight championships.
The title grants RIC an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.
Free throw shooting in the fourth quarter (15-of-16 from the stripe) had propelled RIC to a 66-60 semifinal win over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Thursday. It did the same against Eastern (22-5) Saturday. After scoring 27 points in the fourth against UMass Dartmouth, the Anchormen scored 26 against Eastern, sinking 14-of-19 from the stripe over the final ten minutes. Ranked only seventh in the LEC in free throw percentage, RIC sank 20-of-28 to outscore Eastern (10-of-10 from the line) by ten from the stripe.
Four consecutive free throws from Eastern seniors Anna Barry (Andover) and Mariah Dunn (Meriden) had pushed Eastern into a four-point lead in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter before Jones swing into action. She followed with four straight hoops to spark the 14-point run, sinking a pair of jumpers around a defensive rebound from sophomore forward Jayda Bing, then coming up with a steal and basket and completing a conventional three-point play that made it 44-41. She then grabbed a rebound of a missed Eastern shot and converted it into another field goal that made it 46-41.
Bing closed out the critical scoring run for the Anchorwomen. After Jones' four consecutive baskets, Bing swished two free throws, then stole the ball and hit one of two from the line to make it 49-41 before sophomore forward Angelina Nardolillo hauled in a defensive rebound and put back a miss by senior guard Antonia Corsinetti on the other end to cap the 14-point run and make it 51-41 with 3:30 left.
On seven possessions during RIC's burst, Eastern missed four shots and turned the ball over three times.
Corsinetti, last year's tournament MVP, led RIC with 17 points. Corsinetti got her team off to a fast start with nine first-quarter points with three three-point field goals. Junior guard Madison Medbury added 11 points, Jones and Bing contributing ten points. Jones, who had eight rebounds in the semifinal win, led all players with 12 against Eastern and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Corsinetti (6-of-6) and Medbury (5-of-7) combined on 11-of-13 rom the stripe
Barry posted her 16th double-double of the season with a game-high 25 points and team-high 11 rebounds. She also blocked four shots and had three steals and two assists. Dunn chipped in 12 points and four rebounds but the Warriors got only 15 points from its six remaining players.
Eastern and RIC had shared the regular-season title, both winning 15 of 16 conference games. Since Eastern snapped Rhode Island's 18-game overall winning streak, the Anchorwomen had won four straight heading into Saturday's final. The Warriors brought a 13-game winning streak into Saturday's game following a 51-37 loss at RIC Jan. 4.