by US Fed News

Undermanned University of Massachusetts Dartmouth matched the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team basket for basket for 25 minutes before the top-seeded Warriors pulled away for a 60-40 win over the eighth-seeded Corsairs in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 Little East Conference tournament Tuesday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. Ranked No. 14 nationally, Eastern (24-2) tied the program record with its 15th consecutive victory and will host the LEC Final Four Friday and Saturday. The Warriors, 13-1 at home, face No. 4 seeded Keene State College (20-6) Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the first of two semifinal-round games. No. 2 Western Connecticut (21-4) faces No. 3 University of Southern Maine (20-6) Friday at 7:30 p.m. The tournament final is set for Saturday at 4 p.m., with the winner gaining an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament March 6. In other first-round games Tuesday, all of the home teams and higher-ranked teams won.

Keene eliminated No. 5 Plymouth State University, 66-50; Western eliminated No. 7 Massachusetts Boston, 71-51; and Southern Maine eliminated No. 6 Rhode Island College, 61-49. UMass Dartmouth led throughout much of the first half and trailed by one only, 33-32 in the opening minutes of the second half before Eastern finally began to wear down the Corsair s, who have only six players. Five different players contributed to a 13-2 run over a span of five-and-one-half minutes as the Warriors surged to a 12-point, 46-34 lead with ten minutes left. The lead dipped only double figures once (nine points) the rest of the way. Sophomore point guard Brittany Whiteley (Windsor Locks) gave a struggling Eastern team a lift in the first half by coming off the bench to hit all three of her field goals (2-for-2 from three-point range) and both of her free throws and hand out two assists in nine minutes. The Corsairs led by as many as five in the first seven minutes of the game and only a three-point field goal by Whiteley in the final seconds allowed Eastern to take a (two-point) lead into the locke rroom. Senior post player Ashley McFetridge (Canton) and sophomore forward Amanda Pierlioni (Plainville) - who shot a combined 31-for-45 with 22 rebounds in two regular-season wins for Eastern over UMass - were held to 2-for-5 shooting, six points and two rebounds in 24 combined first-half minutes Tuesday. Ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense (49.5 ppg. allowed) and eighth in field goal percentage defense (32.2), Eastern surrendered only 11 second-half points to the winded Corsairs. Junior forward Kaylin Nelson, who kept UMass in the game in the first half by scoring 14 points (6-for-8 from the floor) and grabbing five rebounds, was shut out in the second half on 0-for-6 shooting from the floor). Senior forward Kate Brunet (Bristol) scored eight of her ten points in the second half on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor, with McFetridge and senior guard Nicky Morey (Columbia) helping the Warriors to a +13 advantage on the boards in the second half with five rebounds each. Whiteley led all players with a career-high 19 points. She was 5-for-7 from the floor (3-for-4 from three-point range) and 6-for-6 from the foul line. Sophomore guard Jessica Moriarty (East Haven) had 13 points, four assists and three steals and Morey eight points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Christina Amato (Marlboro, MA) had a team-high eight rebounds, along with four assists and three steals. As a team, Eastern sank 12 of 13 free throws and finished with a +13 rebounding margin. The UMass starting five played all but three minutes in the game. Freshman forward Rayven Tillman led UMD with 15 points and also grabbed seven rebounds, with Nelson grabbing a game-high nine rebounds to go along with her 14 points. The win was the 30th straight for Eastern over UMass as the Warriors remain undefeated against the Corsairs in five conference tournament games since 1988. The defending conference tournament champion, Eastern last hosted the LEC tournament in 2001. That year, the Warriors won 15 straight and had captured 19 of their last 20 before bowing out in the semifinals against Western Connecticut. Last year's LEC tournament crown was the third for Eastern in 22 years of conference play. All three of Eastern's LEC championships have come against Southern Maine - twice on the Huskies' floor and once on a neutral floor.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

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