Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Beacons women’s basketball team traveled to Castleton, Vermont, for a Little East Conference matchup against the Vermont State Castleton Spartans. The Spartans have struggled this season, posting a 5-11 record and just one conference win. It was a pivotal conference matchup for both squads, with each looking to gain ground in the standings.
UMass Boston opened the scoring with a layup by sophomore Sabanna Berrios in a tight first quarter. Another layup by sophomore guard Vanessa Bucha tied the game at 13 apiece heading into the second. Both teams traded baskets, each refusing to let the other break away. With the game tied at 30-all, the Spartans took the lead with a layup to go into the half.
Despite Berrios’s twelve third-quarter points, Vermont State Castleton relied on a string of small runs to take a lead of 62-52 at the end of the third. The fourth saw the Spartans go on an 11-4 run forced by an offensive showcase, which was just too much for the Beacons to handle. UMass Boston would go on to lose 83-70.
Next for UMass Boston was another LEC matchup in Willimantic, Connecticut, Saturday, Jan. 25, to take on the Eastern Connecticut State Warriors, who were struggling this season as well with a 7-10 record.
It was a back-and-forth first quarter, and the game was dead even through the first six minutes. The Beacons caught a thin one-point lead off a 7-6 run for the 15-14 advantage at the end of the first. In the second quarter, UMass Boston, propelled by the little momentum they had gained, took a 37-30 lead at the half.
The Beacons went on a 12-2 run in the third, outscoring the Warriors 18-13. They were led by eight points from Berrios. Junior Guard Sibayla Jensen’s back-to-back layups gave UMass Boston the 55-43 lead heading into the last quarter of play.
The Beacons were able to hold onto their sizable lead in the final quarter and fled with the 69-51 win.
Berrios shined again in this game notching another career-high 26 points and her sixth double-double of the season — that’s back to back double-doubles and career-highs for the Eastern Nazarene transfer. Sophomore forward Samora Merchant recorded 10 rebounds for the fourth time this season.
The Beacons got their second straight conference win Wednesday, Jan. 29 against Western Connecticut in a huge comeback win. At a final score of 60-44, UMass Boston was down 27-14 at halftime. West Conn turned the ball over 33 times, looking incapable of crossing halfcourt at times. UMass Boston came out in a zone in the second half on defense and never looked back. It was a total flip of the script from first to second half, as the Beacons were loose with the ball themselves in the first 20 minutes.
Look out for when UMass Boston takes on the Southern Maine Huskies at Clark Athletic Center Wednesday, Feb. 5. The Beacons will be looking to stay above .500 in the LEC.