WBB: Panthers strong in second half, fall to UMass Dartmouth

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plymouth State University women's basketball team was defeated by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs, 77-56, in a Little East Conference (LEC) contest at Foley Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers put together a strong second half, putting up 40 of the team's 56 points in the final two quarters of play. Prior to tip-off, Plymouth State celebrated graduate student Lea Crompton (Dunbarton, N.H.) in a brief pregame ceremony after reaching the 1,000-career point milestone last week.

Junior Bri Wilcox (Londonderry, N.H) led the Panthers with 16 points, while senior Natalie Harris (Barrington, N.H.) recorded 12 points in the losing effort for the Panthers.

Plymouth State drops to 8-10 (4-6 LEC) on the season, while the Corsairs, who are ranked #24 in this week's WBCA poll and are receiving votes in the D3hoops.com poll, improve to 17-2 (9-1 LEC).

The Basics:

• Plymouth State 77, #24/RV UMass Dartmouth 56
  • Plymouth State (8-10, 4-6 LEC)
  • #24/RV UMass Dartmouth (17-2, 9-1 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Bri Wilcox (16 pts, 5-13 fg, 8 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl)
• Natalie Harris (12 pts, 4-6 fg, 4-5 ft, 4 reb)
• Lea Crompton (7 pts, 3 reb)

How it Happened:

• The Corsairs scored the opening eight points in the first three minutes of play.
• Plymouth State cut the deficit in half, 8-4, with 5:36 on the clock in the first quarter.
• UMass Dartmouth responded, recording the next 10 points to take an 18-4 lead with 3:02 left in the opening quarter.
• The Panthers kept their opponent from recording a field goal for the final five minutes of the second quarter, but still found themselves down 37-17 at halftime.
• Behind a 10-4 third quarter run, the Panthers cut the game down to 48-31 at the 4:37 mark.
• Plymouth State went toe-to-toe with the Corsairs in the third quarter as each team registered 20 points, but the gap remained a 20-point game, 57-37, after three.
• The Panthers continued to show grit in the fourth quarter, rounding out a strong second half.

By the Numbers:

• PSU went 21-of-63 (33.3%) from the floor, and 13-of-20 (65.0%) from the free throw line.
• The Corsairs brought down 52 rebounds to Plymouth State's 40.
• Plymouth State recorded 10 assists to UMD's 15.
• Bench points saw 23 for each team.
• Points in the paint went to UMass Dartmouth, 34-30.
• The Panthers showed a vast improvement from the first meeting of the season where they were overcome by a 35-point margin.
• The Panthers and Corsairs are knotted at 39-39 in the overall head-to-head dating back to 1988.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State hosts Keene State on Thursday (Feb. 1) with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m. at Foley Gymnasium.

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