Box Score SALEM, Mass.--Behind 14 points from eight rebounds from Tournament Most Valuable Player Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.), UMass Boston women's basketball (2-1) cruised to a victory over host Salem State (1-2) in the Salem State University Tournament Championship Game.
Senior Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) joined Murphy on the All-Tournament team after becoming the seventh player in program history to reach the 1,000 point mark with her nine points. Morrison converted an and-one opportunity with 13:33 to play in regulation, for points 998, 999 and 1,000. In four seasons as a Beacon, Morrison has averaged 13.5 points per game in 74 appearances.
Freshman guards Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) and Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) provided all
the secondary scoring the Beacons would need, as Geary finished with eight points and seven rebounds, while Mathieu chipped in with seven points and a team-high six assists.
UMass Boston used a 15-0 run in the opening 10 minutes of the second half to open up a 22-point lead en route to their third-regular season tournament in the past three years.
Salem State's Maggie Reilly and Rachael Carter earned spots on the All-Tournament Team as well, as the pair combined for 31 of Salem State's 51 points. Carter poured in a game-high 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, while Reilly knocked down three 3-pointers en route to her 10 points.
For the second-straight night UMass Boston used their high-intensity on defense, size inside and depth to put away an opponent, as the Beacons earned huge advantages in second-chance points (16-0), points off turnovers (23-5) and bench points (30-7).
The Beacons held Salem State to just 24.1 percent (13-for-54) shooting from the field and and 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) shooting from distance. UMass Boston knocked down 39.3 percent (24-of-61) percent of their shots and hit 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) of their 3-point attempts.
Salem State's shooters sparked the offense early on as Reilly knocked down two three-pointers in the opening five minutes. The Beacons also came prepared to shoot the long ball as Mallory Nelson (Topsham, ME) and Taje Burston (Springfield, MA) each hit a trey to give UMass a slight 11-10 lead at 16:12. Reilly broke a Vikings' scoring drought with a made free throw at 12:20 that brought Salem State within five and then again brought the Vikings to within four with a three ball from the corner with just less than nine minutes left. UMass took advantage of their size difference, scoring 12 points in the paint as they out-rebounded Salem State 24-16 in the first half, a key to their 30-23 half time lead.
In the second half, the Beacons started pulling away after a Burston layup that sparked a 15-0 run that ran the clock to just under eight minutes. With the Beacons leading 36-29 with 15:38 to play, Burston knocked down a layup, followed by Morrison's three-point play that gave her 1,000 for her career. From there, Chantel Jordan (Brockton, Mass.) added a layup and two free throws, sandwiched around six-straight points from Geary.
The Vikings scorers went cold as they went without a basket for more than eight minutes until Carter made a fast break layup at the 7:40 mark.
UMass Boston would extend the lead to as many as 26 (57-31) with five minutes to play, before emptying the bench with 4:11 to play.
The Beacons will look to earn their third-straight win Tuesday, when UMass Boston travels to Fitchburg State University at 5:30 p.m.
