Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn.—Third-seeded UMass Boston women's basketball (19-9) and top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors (20-8) saved the best game of the Little East Conference Tournament for last. After battling through 40 minutes tied 50-50, the Warriors just managed to slip past the Beacons 64-62 in overtime, behind a career-high 25 points from Tournament Most Valuable Player Jordyn Nappi.
Playing in their first-ever LEC Title Game, the Beacons battled back from multiple late deficits to force overtime, and fell just short of setting yet another first, in what has been the best season in program-history. UMass Boston ends the year with a program-record best 19-8 finish and the team's first two LEC Tournament victories in the 28 years of the program.
The contest marked the final contest for UMass Boston's two seniors: Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) and Brittany Moore (Billerica, Mass.). The two players finished their careers 54-52 and are the first class to finish with an above .500 record, since the first four-year class in program-history (1984).
Morrison recorded her third-straight double-double in tournament play, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The senior finishes her career fourth in program history with 1,273 points and 810 rebounds in 98 career games.
Freshman Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) capped off one of the best freshman seasons in program history, with a team-best 20 points, to go along with her six rebounds and five assists. The freshman knocked down the game-tying 3-pointer with 15 seconds to go in regulation and added another three with seven seconds left in overtime, to cut the final deficit to two.
Junior Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) added 12 points and 13 rebounds for her 18th double-double in 28 games. She also registered three assists and a game-high four blocks.
Sophomore Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.) added eight points and freshman Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) chipped in with a team-high six assists, to along with her five points.
Nappi was the story for the Warriors, as she knocked down all seven of her 3-pointers (7-of-10) and recorded all 25 of her points over the final 25 minutes. She knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to shift a one-point deficit into a four-point lead with 1:45 to go in the extra session.
Julia DePoi added nine points for the Warriors, who won the title at home-for the first time. Senior Shannon McCourt added eight points, while Lindsay Langenauer recorded four points and 12 rebounds.
In a game filled with excellent defensive play in the first half and phenomenal offensive execution, the contest came down to some late calls-that seemed to favor the hosts.
Neither team could solve the opponent's defense in the first half, with the Beacons heading into the break leading by one at 18-17. While the Warriors were held to a paltry 17.9 percent from the field, the Beacons struggled to control the ball, with 13 of their 27 turnovers coming in the first stanza.
The game was full of runs right from the start, as Eastern raced out to a 7-0 run, only to have the Beacons tie the game 7-7 at the 12:11 mark. From there both teams would jockey for the lead, with UMass Boston grabbing their first and only lead of the half at 18-17 on a Geary 3-pointer with 2:01 to go in the half.
Offense wasn't a problem in the second half, as both teams nearly doubled up their point totals in the second half alone. Eastern knocked down 7-of-13 3-pointers, while UMass Boston shot a scorching 57.1 percent in the second half, including recording 22 of their 30 points in the paint over the final 25 minutes.
After Eastern opened the second half on a 5-0 min-run, the Beacons scored eight-straight behind four points from Murphy and a big 3-pointer from Burston.
The sides would go back-and-forth with 10 total lead changes and nine ties throughout the course of the game. Trailing by one with under a minute to go, Nappi and Jill Ritrosky hit four-straight free throws to give Eastern a 50-47 lead with 27 seconds left.
After an Eastern timeout, Geary came down and drilled one of her three key 3-pointers, as she tied the game at 50-all with 15 seconds left. Senior Kristina Forsman had a chance to win in regulation, but her lay-in was too strong and Geary ripped down the rebound.
The Beacons grabbed the first lead of overtime on a long two from Morrison, only to have Forsman answer with a deep three. Burston responded with a 3-pointer of her own to give the Beacons a 55-53 lead with 2:50 left, only to have Nappi come around a screen and knock down a 3-pointer to give the Warriors the lead for good.
Her second 3-pointer of overtime and seventh overall made it 59-55 with 1:45 left and McCourt hit a key baseline jumper to push the lead to 61-55 with 1:04 left.
The Beacons wouldn't go down easy though, as Morrison grabbed an offensive rebound and got the put-back to fall to make it 61-57. After Nappi missed the first free throw on a one-and-one, Geary knocked down a lay-up to make it 61-59 with just 35 seconds left.
Forsman clanked the final one-and-one to give the Beacons life, but Burston was whistled for a travel, after she slipped to the ground and looked to be tied up.
Nappi and Formsan knocked down 3-of-4 free throws to push the lead back out to 64-59, only to have Geary drain another huge 3-pointer to cut it to 64-62 with seven seconds left.
UMass Boston would get one last chance after two more missed free throws, but Geary's final half-court effort was late, as the young Beacons squad fell just short.
