Box Score
BOSTON, Mass.—Western Connecticut State University jumped out to an early 9-0 lead and never relinquished their lead, to hand UMass Boston women's basketball their first loss of the 2015-16 season.
THE BASICS
Western Connecticut State 83, UMass Boston 73
(UMass Boston 6-1, Little East 0-1)
(Western Connecticut State 4-3, Little East 1-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Colonials knocked down 50 percent of their shots and scored the most points by a Beacons' opponent all season long, to avenge a Little East Conference Quarterfinal loss from a year ago.
After opening the season with six-straight non-conference wins, the Beacons struggled to fully get going against the Colonials.
Sophomore Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) led the Beacons with a season-high 25 points, to go along with her five rebounds and four steals. Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) added 11 points and 16 rebounds, but the senior missed 18 shots on the day.
Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.) added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists and sophomore Raven Kelsey (Boston, Mass.) was the final Beacon in double-digits with 12 points.
The Colonials had four players finished with 15 or more points, as Emily Dobson and Kayla Croswell but finished with 18 points, while Kaitlyn Labonte and Jancy Sherwood added 16 and 15 points respectively.
Western Connecticut State jumped all over the Beacons in the early going, as they raced out to a 9-0 lead in the opening 2:48, and stretched their lead to as many as 12 in the first quarter.
UMass Boston made their comeback in the second quarter, as they tied the game on five separate occasions. After Geary hit two free throws with 30 seconds remaining in the half, Sherwood gave the Colonials the lead for good with a deep-three just before the buzzer, to give Western Connecticut State a 38-35 edge.
The Colonials opened the second half on 6-0 run to stretch the lead back to nine, but sophomore
Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) cut it to a one-point game (49-48) with 3:12 to go in the quarter.
That would be as close as UMass Boston would get though, as Western Connecticut ended the quarter on a 9-4 run and made it an 11-point game early in the fourth.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston knocked down just 30.5 percent (25-of-82) of their shots and 19-of-33 (57.6 percent) of their free throw attempts.
- The Beacons held a 50-42 edge on the boards and a 39-24 edge in bench points.
- The two teams combined for 50 turnovers, with the Colonials giving the ball away 29 times.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will look to rebound on Thursday, when the Beacons travel to take on Westfield State University at 5:30 p.m.
