Box Score BOSTON, Mass.—Rhode Island College outscored host UMass Boston women's basketball 40-22 in the second half, to earn a 67-52 win over the Beacons on Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
THE BASICS
Rhode Island College 67, UMass Boston 52
(UMass Boston 16-5, Little East Conference 7-5)
(Rhode Island College 18-4, Little East Conference 10-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Anchorwomen closed the third quarter on a 7-2 run to take a three-point lead and then used an 11-3 flurry to start the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
UMass Boston junior guard Jalani Jackson (Brockton, Mass.) led the Beacons with 15 points. Joie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Off the bench, Geanna Williams (Cromwell, Conn.) contributed nine points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kaylee Haynes (Bridgewater, Mass.) finished fourth on the team with six points.
Rhode Island College junior guard Sophia Guerrier led all players with 21 points on 8-18 shooting. Guerrier added six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Fataya Larry finished with a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds for the visitors. Jordyn Gauvin finished third on the team with nine points and five rebounds.
Saturday's game saw one team dominate three of the four quarters.
The first stanza went to the Anchorwomen, as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead and went into the second leading 17-7. Rhode Island shot 50 percent (7-14) for the quarter and held the Beacons to just 3-12 shooting and seven turnovers.
UMass Boston completely turned the tides in the second. The Beacons opened the quarter on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 17-16 with 5:48 left in the half. Haynes began the run with a 3-pointer and Tahjai Mazyck (Hamden, Conn.) followed with a free throw. After a couple of empty possessions, Jackson hti a pair of free throws and then converted a 3-point play to bring the Beacons within one.
Rhode Island College managed to build their lead back to five on a Guerrier 3-pointer, only for the Beacons to close the half on an 11-3 run.
Williams hit a 3-pointer to begin the flurry and Rachel Tutkus (Braintree, Mass.) hit two free throws to tie the game. Grassi followed with a layup to give the Beacons their first lead of the game and Sarah St. Surin (Norwalk, Conn.) hit two layups to give the Beacons a 30-27 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was the most competitive stanza of the game. The two sides traded the lead back-and-forth until the final three minutes of action. With the Beacons leading 40-38, Rhode Island College scored seven of the final nine points to earn a 45-42 lead after three. Larry recorded three points during the run and Gauvin and Maci Dorantes added baskets as well.
Rhode Island College put the game away with a huge fourth quarter (22-10). After the teams traded baskets to open the quarter, Rhode Island College went on a 9-1 run to take their largest lead of the game to that point (56-45). Four different Anchorwomen scored during the run, with Larry knocking down a three from straight-away to give the Anchorwomen their first double-digit lead since the first quarter.
UMass Boston managed to cut the deficit to seven with 4:59 to go, but that was as close as the Beacons would get.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston finished the contest shooting 34.7 percent (17-49) from the field and 6-15 (40 percent) from distance. The Beacons also went 80 percent (12-15) from the free throw line.
- With her 15 points, Jackson went over 750 for her career (753). She also became the 12th player in program history to reach 100 career made 3-pointers (100).
- The Anchorwomen earned big advantages in rebounds and off turnovers. The visitors led 42-28 in rebounds and earned a 17-6 lead in second-chance points. Rhode Island College also owned a 27-9 lead in points off turnovers.
- With the loss, UMass Boston falls to 19-59 all-time against Rhode Island College. The two programs have now split the regular-season series in back-to-back years
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will travel to Castleton University on Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m.
