Pride Lose to UMass Dartmouth

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College lost to UMass Dartmouth, 86-58, Thursday night in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball game at Higgins Court.

Marissa Prall (Hopkinton, Mass.) hit four three-pointers as she led the Pride with a season-high 15 points. Taylor Iorfino (Monroe, Conn.) finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, Sam D'Angelo (Woburn, Mass.) contributed 11 points and seven rebounds, and Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) added 10 points.

UMass Dartmouth (10-2) scored the first four points of the game, but a jumper by Veasey and a three-pointer by Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) put the Pride on top, 5-4. The lead went back and forth until the Corsairs scored eight unanswered points to pull ahead, 17-9, with 4:25 remaining in the first quarter.

Down 21-13 late in the first quarter, Regis rallied back, rattling off 10 straight points, including two three-pointers by Prall, to take a 23-21 lead early in the second quarter. After a made free throw by Iorfino gave the Pride a 24-23 advantage, the Corsairs took the lead for good with an 8-0 scoring run, starting with three-pointers by Ashley Brown and Lauren Empey.

Over the final five minutes of the second quarter, UMass Dartmouth put together a 12-4 scoring run to extend its lead to 45-32 at halftime. Nakira Examond scored the first basket of the second half, but the Pride responded with eight unanswered points, starting with five straight points by Iorfino before a three-pointer from Prall, to pull within seven at 47-40.

The Corsairs slowly increased their lead thanks to a 14-6 scoring run during the rest of the third quarter. UMass Dartmouth scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Empey was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field, including two three-pointers, as she led the Corsairs with 18 points and five blocked shots. Examond finished with 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds, Jess Korzec also scored 15 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals, and Shaelyn Carreiro contributed 10 points off the bench on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line.

As a team, UMass Dartmouth shot 50 percent (35-of-70) from the field, hitting over 50 percent of its field goal attempts in three of the four quarters. The Corsairs also shot 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the free throw line, enjoyed a slight 40-37 rebounding edge, and scored 26 points off 21 Regis turnovers.

The Pride shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the field, including 5-of-16 from behind the three-point line, and 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the free throw line.

UMass Dartmouth returns to Little East Conference play when it hosts UMass Boston this Saturday, Jan. 5, starting at 1 p.m.

Regis (3-8) heads to Becker College to face the Hawks Saturday, Jan. 5, starting at 1 p.m. The Pride open conference play against nationally ranked and preseason GNAC favorite Saint Joseph's College at Higgins Court next Tuesday, Jan. 8, beginning at 7 p.m.