UMass Dartmouth Athletics Press Release DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women’s basketball team handed Little East Conference rivals Rhode Island College their first conference loss of the season, 72-49, on Wednesday from the Tripp Athletic Center. The Corsairs, who are receiving votes in both the D3hoops.com and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25 national polls, remain undefeated in league play improving to 3-0 while the Anchorwomen dropped to a 3-1 conference record. The Corsairs victory over the Anchorwomen breaks an 11-game losing streak spanning over five seasons. UMass Dartmouth last defeated Rhode Island back on Jan. 29, 2020 at home by a final score of 72-62. Senior Amaris Mills kicked off the scoring for UMass Dartmouth with her pull up off the assist from graduate student Carly Whiteside. Rhode Island then took control on offense going on a 9-0 run featuring five points from Angelina Nardolillo to give the visitors an early 9-2 lead. After Whiteside disrupted the Anchorwomen’s momentum, fifth year Kaylin Zalewski then drained a triple to cut Rhode Island’s advantage down to two points. With 3:48 on the clock, graduate student Jane McCauley knocked down a three-pointer off the feed from junior Melanie DeMeo to even the score up at 14-apiece. The Corsairs went on to finish the first quarter with a 9-1 run that was completed by a triple from McCauley to take a 23-15 edge. Shalyn Smith hit a three-pointer early in the second quarter to make it a five-point game, but Andrews quickly answered with a fast break layup to extend UMass Dartmouth’s lead to 27-20. Rhode Island fought back with a late 7-2 run in the quarter to narrow the Corsairs advantage to just one-point with 1:49 left in the first half. Fifth year Jaelyn Lavigne responded with a good jumper followed by another triple from McCauley to pull away with a 34-28 lead. Maggie Schwab went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to make it 34-29 heading into halftime. DeMeo opened the third by draining a three-pointer off the helper from Zalewski in the opening minutes of play. At the 6:55 mark, Andrews finished an and-one play after Nardolillo committed the foul to put UMass Dartmouth ahead 42-35. The Corsairs kept their foot on the gas stringing 11 straight points together that was started by four points from Whiteside and finished with a McCauley triple to take a commanding 15-point lead entering the final quarter of the game. DeMeo once again got the Corsair offense going with her and-one play to give the home team a 56-40 advantage. Soon after, Mills clipped in 3-of-3 free throws at the 8:30 mark to give UMass Dartmouth their largest lead of the game at 18-points. Jaina Yekelchik knocked down a late three-pointer for the Anchorwomen, but the Corsairs sealed the conference win by a final score of 72-49 after scoring the final six points of the game. Four Corsairs scored in the double digits led by McCauley with her 17 points (6-10 FG, 4-11 3-FG, 1-1 FT) along with two rebounds and a block. Andrews recorded her second double-double of the season posting 13 points (6-7 FG, 1-6 FT) and hauling in 10 defensive rebounds. Zalewski dropped 11 points (3-9 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 4-4 FT) with seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal. DeMeo also posted double figures with 10 points (4-9 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 1-1 FT) in the win to go along with two assists, one rebound, and a steal. On the defensive end, Andrews grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds while Whiteside and fifth year Jemima Joseph each snagged seven defensive boards apiece. Whiteside, Mills, and McCauley each recorded one block each as well in the victory. UMass Dartmouth are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 11 traveling to Vermont State University Castleton for their next conference tilt. The game is scheduled for a 12:00 pm start time. Categories: College Sports, Sports Tags: Little East, RIC Anchormen, UMass Dartmouth Corsairs