UMass Boston women’s basketball clawed their way to an LEC tournament berth as the sixth seed — with just a 7-9 conference record in the regular season. They traveled to Gorham, Maine, for their first-round matchup against the Southern Maine Huskies. The Huskies finished the tail of the season with a six-game winning streak and had an impressive 16-9 record, including a 26-point win over the Beacons.
Southern Maine got the ball rolling early, scoring 10 points in the first six minutes, leaping to an early eight-point lead. The Beacons came back off of back-to-back baskets from Sabanna Berrios and a layup from Hialeah Foster, then shrunk the deficit to two. Jordis Tautalatasi knotted the scoring at 10 apiece with a layup. Maddy York of the Huskies sank a free throw to give them the 11-10 advantage, heading into the second.
The Huskies began the second with a layup, but UMass Boston’s Sibayla Jensen responded with a lay-in of her own, keeping the Beacons within one. Samora Merchant put the Beacons on top 16-15 for their first lead of the game. The lead was tilting both ways until a steal from first-year Ashleigh Lagor led to a fast break layup from Tautalatsi. UMass Boston held the 25-23 lead, heading into halftime.
In the third, Berrios extended the lead to four with a midrange jumper. Vanessa Bucha heated up with a three-ball and a layup to give the Beacons a seven-point lead. The Huskies battled back, but Tatiannah Fevry’s layup late gave UMass Boston their largest lead of the game at eight points. Merchant finished in the paint to finish the quarter off for the Beacons with a 37-30 lead. Things were looking well-off for the Beacons; all they needed to do was protect their three-possession lead to pull off the upset.
However, in the fourth, the Huskies began howling. Lucy Wiles of Southern Maine completed a three-ball from deep to start a 9-0 run for the Huskies, and they immediately took the lead. UMass Boston battled back, but Southern Maine slowly but surely broke away, exploding for 29 points on seven field goals, 11 free throws, and four triples in the quarter. The Beacons were able to bring the lead down to five points, but it just wasn’t enough. Southern Maine broke out for an 11-point lead and went on to win 59-48. The Huskies would go on to the LEC semifinals against the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen. UMass Boston’s surprise 2025-26 postseason campaign came to an end, and they look to improve next year.
Bucha led the team in scoring with 13 points. Berrios had 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Merchant recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 points and led the team with 13 rebounds. She also had one block and two steals. Freshman guard Tajeiha Madison had three assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
Overall, Berrios was the only player to average double digits with 13.7 points per game on the season and played the most minutes on average with 28.6 minutes per game. Jensen led the team by a wide margin with 71 total assists.
