WILLIMANTIC, Conn.–Top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University outscored sixth-seeded UMass Boston women's basketball 18-11 in the fourth quarter, to earn back-to-back Little East Conference championships for the first time in program history.

THE BASICS

#1 Eastern Connecticut State 64, #6 UMass Boston 56

(UMass Boston 16-12)

(Eastern Conn. St. 22-6)

HOW IT HAPPENED

After getting off to an early lead (15-6), UMass Boston slowly saw the hosts creep back into the game and eventually creep past them, as the Warriors ended the Beacons' season for the second-straight year in the LEC Title Game. 

Senior Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) made program history in the loss, as she set the program-record for career points (1,546). Murphy, who also tied the program-record for career games played with 104, set the program record with 9:11 to go in the fourth quarter, as she knocked down a free throw to pass Linda Caruso ('97), who had held the mark for nearly two decades. 

Murphy finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks in just 27 minutes of action. The senior who saw her career come to an end on Saturday, finishes her career first in points, tied for first in games played, third in rebounds (1,136), second in blocks (173) and first in career made field goals (623). She also ends her career first in program history with her 62 wins in four years.

Sophomore Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) paced the Beacons offensively for a third-straight playoff contest, as she ended the game with 18 points in 32 minutes. Junior Chantel Jordan (Brockton, Mass.) added 10 points and five rebounds, while Taje Burston (Springfield, Mass.) accounted for seven points and two assists.

Eastern senior forward Jill Ritrosky led all players with 20 points Saturday en route to tournament MVP honors. Ritrosky had 17 points and 14 rebounds in the 67-51 win over number five Massachusetts Dartmouth. 

Junior guard Jordyn Nappi, last year's tournament MVP, had 16 points and senior forward Erin Brooks (Billerica, MA) 11. Junior guard Julia DePoi grabbed eight rebounds to go along with nine points. DePoi sat out most of the first half with two personal fouls. Nappi became the 17th player in program history to score 1,000 points early in the fourth quarter. 

UMass Boston led throughout much of the first half before the Warriors rallied for a 27-26 halftime lead. The Warriors carried a one-point lead into the final quarter and broke the sixth and final tie when Ritrosky converted an inside bucket off her own offensive rebounds, Nappi sank a jumper off a UMB turnover, and Ritrosky swished two free throws following another UMass turnover to make it 58-52 with just under four minutes left.

Eastern gains an automatic NCAA tournament berth with the victory. Its first-round opponent will be determined Monday. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston finishes the year with the second-most wins in program history with 16. The only team with more wins in program history was last season's team-that ended the season at 19-9.
• The Beacons will return 14 of 15 players, from a team that has gone to back-to-back LEC Title Games.
• Eastern dominated the Beacons at getting to the free throw line, as they went 24-of-33, compared to the Beacons 13-of-17.
• A day after committing just 13 turnovers, UMass Boston gave the ball away 19 times. On the other side, the hosts turned it over just 11 times.

INFORMATION FOR THIS RELEASE COURTESY OF EASTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION.