Box Score
BOSTON, Mass.—UMass Boston women's used a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter, to earn a 65-56 Little East Conference win over Keene State College on Saturday afternoon.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 65, Keene State College 56
(UMass Boston 14-3, Little East 6-3)
(Keene State 5-13, Little East 4-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Jalani Jackson (Brockton, Mass.) and Geanna Williams (Cromwell, Conn.) scored six points apiece in the fourth, to help UMass Boston secure their third-straight win.
Jackson recorded a game-high 25 points in an extremely efficient manner. The junior guard finished 7-13 from the field, went 3-5 from beyond the arc and 8-9 from the free throw line.
Junior Joie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) added a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. She needed just six shots (3-6) to reach double-figures and tacked on four assists and a steal.
Williams paced the Beacons' bench unit with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes of action. Senior Jamie Staples (Amherst, Mass.) filled up the stat sheet with four points, five rebounds and five assists in her third start of the season.
Hailey Derosia paced the Owls with a team-high 20 points on 9-17 shooting. The freshman added a team-high seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Kenzie Bennett tacked on eight points and Jordyn Burke finished third on the Owls with six points and four rebounds.
UMass Boston played their best basketball to start the first quarter and to close out the game. The Beacons leapt out to a 13-2 lead after 5:37. Jackson and Grassi hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the run. After a pair of Sarah St. Surin (Norwalk, Conn.) free throws, Grassi hit another 3-pointer and then closed out the run with two free throws of her own.
The Beacons went ice cold from the field from there. Keene State held the Beacons to five points over the final 4:23 to cut the deficit to 18-8 after the first quarter.
With the Beacons leading Keene State 28-18 late in the second, Keene State went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 28-27 on a Bennett 3-pointer. Jackson responded back, as she drove to the hoop and was fouled with one second left and hit two free throws to give the Beacons a 30-27 lead at halftime.
The two sides traded the lead back-and-forth in the third quarter, with Keene State taking the lead on six occasions. Staples gave the Beacons a late 46-44 lead on a 3-pointer, but Samantha Adamson hit a jumper to tie the game at 46 after three.
UMass Boston turned the game around with a 9-0 run to begin the fourth. Williams hit a layup on the Beacons' first possession and freshman Kaylee Haynes (Bridgewater, Mass.) followed with a 3-pointer. After another a Williams basket, Grassi hit a lay-in to give the Beacons a 55-46 lead with 6:35 remaining.
Keene State cut the deficit to five with 1:35 to play, but Williams and Jackson hit back-to-back shots to put the game out of reach
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston finished the game shooting 41.7 percent (20-48). UMass Boston went 8-19 (42.1 percent) from distance and 17-25 (68 percent) from the free throw line.
- Jackson has now recorded 96 career 3-pointers. She needs four 3-pointers to become the 12th player in program history to reach 100 made 3-point field goals.
- With the win, UMass Boston earns a split of the season-series against the Owls. The Beacons improved to 15-38 all-time against Keene State and earned their fifth win in the past six meetings.
- Grassi recorded her second-straight double-double and career-high sixth of the season.
- The Beacons' 15 wins are tied for the fourth-most in program history. All three of the teams ahead of this year's team have played in the last four seasons.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will travel to the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. The Beacons will be looking to complete the season-sweep, after defeating the Huskies 77-65 in December.
