NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.—Despite a career-high 28 points from freshman Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.), UMass Boston women's basketball (10-6, 3-3 Little East) fell just short at league-leading UMass Dartmouth (11-4, 5-1 Little East) Tuesday evening by an 85-75 score.

The Beacons kept pace with the Corsairs in almost every statistical category, but couldn't overcome a huge day from the Corsairs at the charity stripe. UMass Dartmouth knocked down 27 free throws compared to just seven for the Beacons and hit 87.1 percent (27-of-31) for the game, while the Beacons hit just 41.2 percent (7-of-17). For the game, the Beacons were whistled for 25 fouls, while UMass Dartmouth earned just 14.

UMass Boston's free-throw shooting woes overshadowed yet another career day for the two-time defending Little East Conference Rookie of the Week. Geary raised her career-high for the third time in six games, as she knocked down 11-of-24 shots, 3-of-9 three-pointers and 3-of-5 free throws attempts. She also led the team with her six assists and four steals, while tying for the team lead with seven rebounds.

Senior Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) and Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) added 16 points apiece, as the big three combined for 60 of UMass Boston's 75 points. Morrison recorded 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with her six rebounds, but she was held to just four points in the second half. Mathieu knocked down four of UMass Boston's 10 3-pointers to set a new career-high in points. 

Point guard Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.) was one of three other players who scored, as Burston finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists.

Forwards Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) and Raven Kelsey (Boston, Mass.) both tied for the team lead with their seven rebounds, but failed to score. The contest marked the first scoreless game of Murphy's career, as she was held to an 0-for-2 shooting day in 26 minutes.

Megan Ronaghan, the Little East Conference's leading scorer, poured in 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the Corsairs improve to 6-1 at home this season. Ronaghan also knocked down all eight of her free throws.

Point guard Kelsey Garrity (17 points and nine assists) just missed out on a double-double of her own, while Beth Castantini (16 points) and Bri Hochwarter (14 points) also finished in double-figures for the Corsairs.  

UMass Dartmouth outshot the Beacons by a slim 47.2 percent (25-of-53) to 43.9 percent (29-of-66) margin. They also held an advantage behind the 3-point line, as they knocked down 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) of their 3-pointers, compared to 41.7 percent (10-of-24) for the Beacons.

The Beacons did hold big advantages in points in the paint (32-22) and second-chance points (22-4).

UMass Boston stunned the hosts with an early 10-2 run over the opening four minutes, as both Geary and Burston knocked down 3-pointers.

The lead wouldn't hold though, as the Corsairs took their first lead of the game at 9:24, when Erin Fahey knocked down a jump shot to make it 17-15. Neither side managed to pull away over the seven minutes, as the two teams traded leads six times and combined for six ties.

UMass Dartmouth finally broke away from the Beacons late in the half, as the Corsairs closed the half on a 12-2 run. Hochwarter opened the run with a 3-pointer to take the lead and added another one for good measure, as UMass Dartmouth took a 42-33 lead into the break.

The Corsairs would carry their momentum into the second half, as they scored the first nine points of the second stanza to build a 51-33 advantage with 17:26 to play.

UMass Boston managed to cut the deficit to five behind back-to-back layups from Morrison and Geary and a Mathieu 3-pointer, but Ronaghan recorded the next four points to push the Corsairs lead back to 68-59 with 7:53 to play.

The Beacons made it a one-possession game three-minutes later, but Hochwarter had another answer for the Corsairs. Geary went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 70-68 with 4:57 to play, only to have Hochwarter knock down a 3-pointer to end a two-minute scoreless streak for the hosts.

Ronagahan and Hochwarter would combined for the next four points as well to make it 77-68 with 2:11 to play, as UMass Boston missed back-to-back 3-pointers.

UMass Dartmouth closed out the game by knocking down all eight of their free throw attempts, to earn their seventh-straight home win over UMass Boston. 

The Beacons will return home to host Keene State College Saturday at 1 p.m.