BY JASON CAMPOS
Senior Felicia Haynes scored 30 points and skied for 15 rebounds as the UMass Boston Beacons defeated an experienced Keene State Owl team 72-64 last Saturday at the Clark Athletic Center. The team’s record improves to 5-1 and 1-0 in the Little East Conference.
The Beacons exploded to a 26-9 lead. Senior Jamila Gales (16 points, 14 rebounds) led the way early on as she scored ten points in the first ten minutes of play. The center crashed the boards with ferocity that would last for the entire game. The Beacons also had the fast break working well and their defense was disruptive.
Keene State did not go away quietly and the team cut the margin to ten when Mary Crawford hit back-to-back three pointers. The Keene State half-court trap mired the Beacon offense, although the intensity and physical play picked up.
The Owls managed to trim the lead to four points in the closing minutes of the first half before the Beacons countered with a three-point play from Gales. The Beacons were happy to hear the halftime buzzer, taking a 41-23 lead into the locker room. UMB was cold from the free throw (6/12) and three point line (1/6), although the team did have a decided edge in rebounds (28-19).
The Beacons began the second in much the same way that they did the first half. Haynes was on fire, hitting two shots from downtown to help build the Beacon lead up to 19 points at 55-36. Keene State also repeated the pattern of the first half by increasing the defensive intensity, forcing UMB to commit turnovers.
The Beacons ran into trouble when the personal fouls began to pile up. Coach Shawn Polk of UMB was visibly frustrated over some of the referees’ calls, including a bizarre sequence of events that saw Julie Tardiff of Keene State fouled as her teammate Christina Page launched a three pointer that went in. Tardiff was allowed to shoot two free throws off a made basket, which she made (although there was a considerable question as to whether Page shot the ball before or after the whistle). The foul put the Owls into the double bonus with more than eight and a half minutes remaining in the game.
The Owls continued to fight back, as the team managed to cut the deficit to as little as five twice. However, junior Kristen Bowes hit a key 19-foot shot from the left corner to seal the game for the Beacons.
The Beacons next play on Saturday when they visit Little East Conference rival Rhode Island College and then will be off for two weeks until Grand Canyon Classic on December 28 and 30. The Beacons will next be home on January 11 against Eastern Connecticut State.