UMass Boston women’s basketball opened their season Wednesday, Nov. 13, at Clark Athletic Center, taking on the Brandeis Judges. Brandeis started the game on a 12–4 run and owned the first quarter with a 15–6 lead. The Beacons battled back, winning the second quarter 13–11, but struggled to gain enough ground to catch up to Brandeis and would lose their home opener 50–37.
The next two games were ones to forget for UMass Boston. They blew a 34–21 first-half lead to Curry College as the Colonels found their stride from the three-point line, losing 69–60. The Beacons then lost by 30 at home to Connecticut College, 72–42.
On Fri, Nov. 22, the Beacons traveled to New York, NY, for the Hunter Tip-Off Tournament, entering the contest 0-3. UMass Boston went 1–1, exploding in the first game against Saint Elizabeth University, scoring 84 points, a season-high so far, and losing by 14 to Hunter College, 71–57.
With a subpar record of 1–4, the Beacons traveled to Newton, MA, to take on Lasell College and to Danbury, CT, just four days later to take on the Western Connecticut State Wolves. UMass Boston would fall to Lasell 64–50 but gained a much-needed win in Danbury against West Conn. The Beacons were trailing by one in the first quarter but exploded in the second, outscoring the Wolves 17–9, and rolled along for the 68–57 win.
Then, on Dec. 4, the Beacons welcomed 3–3 Rhode Island College to Beaconville for their second in-conference game in the young season.
UMass Boston looked flustered in the first quarter, shooting 5–16 from the field and 1–3 from beyond the arc. The team also collected 11 fouls and was at a big disadvantage in the turnover game. The second quarter was more of the same; Rhode Island College dominated defensively, and the squads headed to the locker room at halftime with the score at 51–28.
The Beacons battled back in the third quarter with 16 total points compared to Rhode Island College’s 12, but their past mistakes hindered them for the rest of the match. UMass Boston would go on to lose 86–51 for their sixth loss of the year.
The Beacons finished the game with 19 turnovers and 29 personal fouls. Hialeah Turner-Foster led the team in scoring with 12 points and two steals. Beeban Jikiemi-Pearson and Tatiannah Fevry both had nine points.
Rhode Island College knocked UMass Boston down to 2-6 on the season. Fortunately, it’s their first in-conference loss, and they remain 1-1 in the LEC. Hialeah Turner-Foster and Sabanna Berrios are tied to lead the team in scoring at 9.1 per game. Turner-Foster is a sophomore, and Berrios is a freshman. Third in scoring, Ashleigh Lagor is also a freshman. The bulk of the Beacons’ production is coming from underclassmen.
UMass Boston will have a much-deserved break and then will head to Daytona Beach, FL, for the Florida Sunshine Shootout on Dec. 28 to play Stevens Institute of Technology, 3-4, and Amherst College, 7-1. A rough stretch.
