Women’s Hoop Unable to Overcome Slow Start

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Regis College fell behind early and was forced to play from behind the entire game, running out of time as UMass Dartmouth held on for a 61-49 victory Wednesday night in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball contest at the Tripp Athletic Center.

Playing in her first game of the basketball season, senior Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) notched a double-double, leading the Pride with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and two blocked shots, and Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) added seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

UMass Dartmouth (2-0) rattled off 13 unanswered points over a span of three-and-a-half minutes in the opening quarter to pull ahead, 15-2. The Pride scored the next six points, capped by a three-pointer from Bitinaitis, before Ashley Brown hit a jumper in the final minute to give the Corsairs a 17-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The Corsairs scored six straight points early in the second quarter, starting with consecutive baskets by Brianna Craig, to extend their lead to 23-10. The home team then used three-pointers from Jennifer Driscoll and Lauren Empey to further increase its advantage, eventually going into the locker room at halftime ahead, 35-17.

After Shaelyn Carreiro hit a basket in the first minute of the third quarter to give the Corsairs a 20-point lead, Regis started to chip away at its deficit, closing to within 11 at 41-30 on back-to-back layups by Veasey. Brown scored the next five points for UMass Dartmouth on a jumper and a traditional three-point play, but two free throws by Veasey cut the Corsair lead to 46-32 at the end of the third period.

The Corsairs extended their lead back to 18 at 53-35 early in the fourth quarter, but the Pride rattled off eight unanswered points, the last four on consecutive layups by Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) to close to within 10 points halfway through the period. After a layup by Kayla McMahon, baskets by Bitinaitis and Searcy brought the Pride deficit into single digits, but Regis would not get any closer as it was held scoreless in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the game.

Brown came close to a triple-double for the second straight game, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, and five steals. McMahon collected 13 points, five rebounds, and four blocked shots, and Empey contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots.

As a team, Regis shot just 30.3 percent (20-of-66) from the field, including only one three-pointer in 11 attempts, and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the free throw line. UMass Dartmouth made 37.5 percent (21-of-56) of its field goal attempts, including 6-of-17 from behind the three-point line, and 59.1 percent (13-of-22) of its free throw chances.

Regis (0-3) will participate in the Dean Bulldog Tip-Off Tournament in Franklin, Mass., this weekend. The Pride will face Connecticut College Saturday, Nov. 16, at approximately 2:30 p.m., followed by a matchup against either Dean or Clark Sunday, Nov. 17.