WILLIMANTIC, Conn.—#4 UMass Boston women's basketball's rally fell just short, as the Beacons fell 57-48 to top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University in the Little East Conference Semifinals on Friday night.

THE BASICS

#1 Eastern Connecticut State 57, #4 UMass Boston 48

(UMass Boston 20-7)
(Eastern Connecticut 22-4)

HOW IT HAPPENED

After falling behind by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter, the Beacons cut the deficit to three with 1:10 to go and had three shots to tie or cut the deficit to one. The Warriors eventually grabbed a defensive rebound and scored six points in the final 17 seconds to secure their spot in the LEC Championship Game.

With the win, #1 Eastern Connecticut State will host #2 Rhode Island College on Sunday for the LEC Championship Game. The Beacons see their season come to a close with a 20-7 record.

Jalani Jackson (Brockton, Mass.) paced the Beacons with 14 points on 5-13 shooting.

Joie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) added a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Grassi tacked on two blocks and one steal.

Tahjai Mazyck (Hamden, Conn.) was the final Beacon in double-figures. The junior went 5-13 from the field with 12 points, seven rebounds and one steal.

Geanna Williams (Cromwell, Conn.) recorded four points, eight rebounds and two blocks, while playing the full 40 minutes.

Eastern Connecticut State sophomore Anna Barry led all players with 25 points on 11-20 shooting. The center recorded eight rebounds, four blocks and three assists.

Danielle O'Brien chipped in 12 points and Mya Villard registered seven points and 10 points.

Friday night's game was a tale of two halves.  UMass Boston kept the Warriors in check throughout the first half.

After Barry opened the scoring, Grassi knocked down a triple and Alecia Quinones (Stoughton, Mass.) hit a layup to give the Beacons a 5-2 edge. The Warriors answered back with four points of their own, only for Jackson to hit back-to-back layups to give the Beacons a 9-7 lead after one.

With the Beacons trailing 10-9 early in the second, UMass Boston went on a 6-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game. Mazcyk converted a 3-point play and Grassi knocked down another three to give the Beacons a 15-10 lead with 6:55 to go in the half.

Eastern managed to tie the game again at 17-17, but UMass Boston closed the half on an 8-3 flurry. With two seconds left in the half, Rachel Tutkus (Braintree, Mass.) received an inbounds pass and weaved her way through traffic, before banking in a layup just before the buzzer (25-20).

The Warriors turned the game around with a dominant third quarter. Eastern opened the stanza on a 7-0 run and outscored UMass Boston 23-11 over the ten minutes.

Barry and O'Brien combined for all 23 points in the quarter on 10-14 shooting. O'Brien hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Warriors the lead with 8:37 to go in the quarter.

UMass Boston countered with a 5-0 run of their own, only for Barry to score six-straight points. With the Beacons trailing 38-37 with 1:26 to go in the quarter, Barry hit a layup and O'Brien drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Warriors a 43-37 advantage after three.

Eastern stretched their lead to 51-42 with 3:16 to go in regulation, only for UMass Boston to make a comeback bid.

Williams hit a pair of free throws and Jackson followed with a layup to cut the deficit to 51-46. After a pair of empty possessions, Quinones forced a turnover and Grassi slipped underneath Barry for a layup to cut the deficit to 51-48 with 1:10 to play.

After a Barry miss, UMass Boston had two chances to tie, but Jackson and Grassi's deep threes both fell of the mark.

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston finished the game shooting 31.6 percent (18-57), 20.0 percent (3-15) from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent (9-15) from distance.
• Friday's contest marked the final game in Jamie Staples (Amherst, Mass.), Maia Daugherty (Boston, Mass.), Nicola Webbe (Boston, Mass.) and Quinones' career.
• Quinones closes out her career fifth in program history with 103 games played.
• Friday's loss marked the Beacons' first-ever loss in the LEC Semifinals (3-1). The Beacons fell to 0-7 all-time against the Warriors in the LEC Tournament.
• UMass Boston led 42-38 in rebounds and tied 14-14 in points off turnovers and 4-4 in bench points.
• Jackson finishes the season ninth in program history with her 413 points in a single-season. She closes out her junior season with 870 career points.

WHO'S NEXT

UMass Boston is set to return 10 players for the 2020-21 season, including four of the team's five starters.