BOSTON, Mass.  –  Graduate forward Meg Dixon hit four free throws down the stretch during her 22-point performance on Monday night as UMass Boston Women's Basketball held off a late surge by New England College at home for the 68-65 victory, snapping their two-game losing streak.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 68, New England College 65

UMass Boston (6-3)

New England College (7-4)

HOW IT HAPPENED

UMass Boston would fall behind early, 6-2, after junior center Kathleen Rodriguez scored the first six points for New England College. Senior forward Paige Ollivierre went on a 5-0 spurt to give the Beacons a one-point edge, 7-6. The Pioneers would storm back from a five-point deficit late in the first quarter, briefly taking a one-point lead, 14-13, with 1:03 left. Freshman guard Sibayla Jensen gave the Beacons the lead for the good, 15-14 on her layup in the closing seconds of the frame.

Outscoring New England College 15-9 while using an 8-4 stretch to close the second quarter, UMass Boston headed into the halftime locker room with a seven-point advantage, 30-23. Dixon, senior guard Keriann Farina, and sophomore forward Sunny Green each scored six points for the Beacons who shot 25.8% (8-for-31 from the field, 3-for-11 from three-point range).

Kicking off the second half, UMass Boston took their first double-digit lead of the contest as a 5-0 run from Dixon to take a 12-point lead with 7:18 left in the third quarter. Applying pressure in the backcourt, New England College trimmed their largest deficit of 13 points down to six by the end of the quarter after a foul by Farina led to three free throws for freshman guard Macy Gordon. Missing the third free throw, Rodriguez would get the rebound for the Pioneers and find Gordon in the corner for three, making it 47-41 heading into the fourth quarter.

Another three by Gordon would bring New England College within four, 50-46, before UMass Boston would use their transition offense to regain a 10-point advantage after an 8-2 run led by two threes from Dixon. Trailing by seven with 1:38 left in regulation, both teams would exchange free throws before freshman guard Mackenzie McDonald would nail a pair of threes around two missed free throws by Dixon, cutting the Beacon lead to one, 66-65, with five seconds remaining.

After Dixon hit two free throws to extend the UMass Boston lead back to three, New England College would have a chance to tie with 4.2 seconds remaining. Finding McDonald on the right side of the three-point line, the freshman circled to the right side of the line before firing a contested three, missing it short, as the Beacons came away with a 68-65 win at home.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Meg Dixon finished with 22 points on 6-of-16 shooting (8-for-10 from the free throw line) along with nine points and six assists
• Sunny Green scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range
• Kathleen Rodriguez recorded a double-double for New England College, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the game
• There were only three lead changes and one tie in the game

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston gets right back to action tomorrow night with a Little East Conference matchup against WestConn on the road with tip-off scheduled for 5:00 PM. The Beacons have won nine consecutive games against the Wolves dating back to the 2016-17 season.