After a tough, hard-fought loss against the Wolves of Western Connecticut State University, women’s basketball returned home for their second matchup of the year against the undefeated, and third team in the nation, Rhode Island College. Rhode Island got the best of UMass Boston the first time these two met on Dec. 9 with a staggering fifty-point win. While the odds may not have been in the Beacons’ favor, they weren’t looking to have another loss on their hands, and with 350 Beacon faithful in the stands, the thought of a David vs. Goliath-type upset was on their minds (1).
The first quarter was all Rhode Island, with fifth-year forward Izabelle Rooth scoring six points in the first quarter and playing lockdown defense to jump to an early 23–5 lead. While the Beacons were able to narrow down the lead in the second, they still had a steep climb ahead of them with the score being 38–15 going into the half.
The third quarter wasn’t much better for UMass Boston; they fought as hard as they could to form some sort of comeback, but the Anchorwomen were just too strong. Fifth-year center Neleesha Meunier had Back-to-back layups, which helped give the Anchorwomen a 57–26 lead with 1:58 left in the third quarter.
Down big, the Beacons needed a spark to master an improbable 30-point comeback and muster all that they could, outscoring Rhode Island 27–12 in the quarter. At the end of the day, it just wasn’t enough, and Rhode Island got the 71–55 win, staying undefeated and increasing their program-record win streak to 20 games, as reported by Beacons Athletics. [2]
After a tough loss, the Beacons traveled to Gorham, Maine to take on the Huskies from University of Southern Maine. The last time these two met was Jan. 3 in Beaconville, where UMass Boston fell by a mere three points. [1]
This past shortcoming didn’t discourage them, however, as the Beacons started the game strong, shooting 42 percent from the field as a team, but the Huskies shot three-of-five from three-point range. It was a close and highly-contested first half, as Southern Maine was able to edge out UMass Boston by four points at the end of the first quarter, leading 17–13.
The Huskies set the tone in the second quarter, carving out a large lead until a three-pointer from Sibayla Jensen helped initiate a run for the Beacons. As a result, they outscored the Huskies 10–4 in the final five minutes of the half to cut the deficit to just two heading into the locker room.
Southern Maine continued their early quarter momentum in the third, with five unanswered points to start. However, UMass Boston came back, shrinking the deficit to five following a quick three-point score from freshman Sophie Bradbury, and Keriann Farina’s mid-range jump shot got them back within striking distance. However, the Huskies refused to back down, adding ten more unanswered points, creating a 40–30 lead with just one quarter left to play in the process.
The fourth quarter began with a pair of trips to the free throw line for the Beacons, with junior forward Sunny Green and Bradbury bringing the deficit to seven; however, the Huskies clapped back and went up 12 with eight minutes left to play. UMass Boston went on their biggest run of the night, as another jumper from Bradbury shrank the deficit to one with only two minutes to play. Unfortunately, the Huskies held their ground, drawing fouls and having the advantage on the fast break, securing a four-point win on their home court (3).
With only a handful of games left in the season, the Beacons look to get some morale-boosting wins for what has been a disappointing year. Look out for their next home game as UMass Dartmouth comes to town Feb. 7 at 5 p.m. (1).
- https://beaconsathletics.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule
- http://www.goanchormen.com/news/2024/1/27/womens-basketball-earns-20th-victory-in-71-55-win-at-umass-boston.aspx
- https://beaconsathletics.com/news/2024/1/31/womens-basketball-womens-basketball-falls-just-short-of-huskies-following-late-push.aspx