BOSTON, Mass.—UMass Boston women's basketball outscored University of Southern Maine 24-10 in the fourth quarter, to complete a huge comeback victory Thursday night at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
 
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 65, University of Southern Maine 58
(UMass Boston 7-11, Little East Conference 6-6)
(Southern Maine 6-13, Little East Conference 5-5)

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
After trailing by as many as 16 in the first half, UMass Boston outscored the Huskies 48-25 over the final 23:15 to earn a key LEC conference win.
 
Senior Meg Dixon (Hanover, Mass.) led all scorers with 19 points. The senior guard went 6-13 from the field, 6-7 from the line and added a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Freshman Paige Ollivierre (Newton, Mass.) knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. She went 5-9 from the field and 4-7 from distance.
 
Jasharee Greene (Boston, Mass.) made her return and chipped in 12 points (6-11), six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
 
Kerianna Farina (Arlington, Mass.) filled up the scoresheet with six points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists.
 
Victoria Harris and Franny Ramsdell led the visitors with 14 points apiece. Harris went 5-6 from the field and Ramsdell pulled down eight rebounds. Senior Jackie Luckhardt (12 points) and Tamrah Gould (10 points) also finished in double-figures for Southern Maine.
 
UMass Boston got off to a roaring start as they raced out to a 10-2 lead after 3:11. Dixon and Ollivierre combined for nine of the 10 points, as the Beacons showed no ill effects from playing at Castleton on Wednesday night.
 
Southern Maine would begin to chip into the deficit to close the quarter and cut the Beacons lead to 15-13 after one. Southern Maine would use a huge 17-0 run over a 6:26 span to grab a game-high 33-17 lead with 2:25 to play.
 
UMass Boston got back within striking distance with a 7-0 flurry to end the half. Dixon hit a pair of baskets and added a free throw and Rayla Gonzalez (Boston, Mass.) chipped in two free throws to make it 33-24 Huskies at the half.
 
The Beacons carried the momentum into the third quarter, when Green and Vienna Monestime (Framingham, Mass.) each hit baskets to make it 33-28 with eight minutes left in the third. UMass Boston wouldn't get any closer in the third and went into the fourth quarter trailing 48-41.
 
Southern Maine extended their advantage to 11 early in the fourth, before UMass Boston used a 9-0 spurt to get within two. Greene and Sunny Green (Brewster, Mass.) combined for seven of the Beacons points.
 
The Beacons took the lead for good (59-56) with 2:20 to play on an Ollivierre 3-pointer. UMass Boston hit all six of their free throws down the stretch to close out the victory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• The Beacons hit 46.7 percent (7-15) of their shots in the fourth quarter and went 8-9 from the free throw line. The Beacons held Southern Maine to a 4-15 (26.7 percent) mark from the field and forced five Beacons turnovers.
• UMass Boston improved to 10-68 all-time against the Huskies. UMass Boston has won 10 of the past 13 meetings between the two programs.
• Dixon has now scored 15 or more points nine times this season.
• The Beacons earned a 24-2 edge in fast-break points. 

WHO'S NEXT
 
UMass Boston will host Little East Conference leaders Rhode Island College (12-1 LEC) on Saturday at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will be the Beacons "Play for Kay" game.