BOSTON, Mass. – Eastern Connecticut State outscored women's basketball 47-32 over the final two quarters to hand the Beacons a 78-61 Little East Conference loss Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 61, Eastern Connecticut State 78

UMass Boston (15-4, 7-4 Little East Conference)
Eastern Connecticut State (15-3, 9-1 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Led by Lizzy Cretella's game-high 20 points, lifted the Warriors to the conference win, as she led a quartet of double-figure scorers.

The two teams were evenly matched throughout Saturday's contest, but UMass Boston failed to make the one big push to take control of the scoreboard.  They came close multiple times throughout the final two quarters, but ECSU managed to hang on with key basketballs by Cretella and Danielle O'Brien.

Mya Villard dominated the glass for the Warriors grabbing 13 rebounds, with six coming on the offensive glass.   Anna Barry finished second with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Julie Keckler finished with 12 points and six assists. 

Joie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) led the Beacons with her seventh double-double of the year after dropping in 16 points to go along with 11 rebounds.  Tahjai Mazyck (Hamden, Conn.) and Geanna Williams (Crowell, Conn.) each finished with 11 points.

As a team the Beacons shot over 44% for the second straight contest, but they were countered by the Warriors' 49% shooting from the field, and 50% shooting from behind the arc.  In the second half, ECSU dropped in six three-pointers, including going 5-for-7 in the third quarter.

ECSU was able to pull away with the win in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Beacons 23-12, behind 10 points and six rebounds from Villard. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• All-time the Warriors lead the series with the Beacons 68-11
• ECSU has now won four-straight over the Beacons dating back to the 2018-19 campaign
• The Warriors held a 33-31 advantage on the glass
• The Beacons combined for 16 assists
• Both teams scored 32 points in the paint, with the Beacons bench also contributing 27 points
• The Warriors converted the 15 UMB turnovers into 17 points , and also scored 14 second chance points
• The Beacons finished shooting 31.3% from 3-point range and 80.0% from the line

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will travel to Western Connecticut State University on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. conference game.