DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- The UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team withstood a career-high 25 points from Bridgewater State University sophomore guard Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.) as the Corsairs defeated the visiting Bears, 65-56, on Tuesday night at the Tripp Center.
UMass remains unbeaten on the season as the Corsairs improve to 5-0 on the young season. Bridgewater State falls to 2-2 with the setback.
Junior forward Rhiana Page (Brookline, Mass.) added ten points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals for the Bears, while senior guard Chelsea Saucier (Portland, Maine) contributed eight points and seven assists
The lead was traded seven times over the course of the first quarter before UMass Dartmouth was able to gain a small foothold. Junior Rybecca Gonzalez (Providence, R.I.) had the hot hand to start the second quarter, scoring the Corsairs' first eight points of the stanza with two buckets from beyond the arc. Two layups in the final minute gave the hosts the largest lead of the first half at eight points heading into the break.
A Leah Douty (Framingham, Mass.) three-pointer extended the UMass Dartmouth advantage to 13 () and forced a Bridgewater State timeout less than a minute into the second half. The Corsairs' lead would hold throughout the remainder of the contest despite 15 second-half points from DaSilva. The sophomore went 8-of-10 from the foul line in the final 30 minutes, and converted a layup to lower Bridgewater State's deficit to just six with a minute and a half remaining. Corsair sophomore Nakira Examond (New Bedford, Mass.) battled for a layup at 1:12, and junior Chelsea Houlihan (Wolcott, Conn.) sunk a pair of foul shots with 18 ticks left to thwart the comeback.
Gonzalez scored all 10 of her points in the second quarter, going 4-of-6 from the field to achieve a new season-high and her highest scoring game since joining the Corsair roster.
The post duo of Examond and junior Alicia Kutil (Franklin, Mass.) registered 15 points and nine rebounds apiece. Examond snagged four offensive boards and Kutil five, both more than doubling the offensive rebound total of any Bridgewater State player.
DaSilva finished 7-of-14 from the field, bettering her previous career-high of 23 points from last season against Kean University (Jan. 3).
UMass Dartmouth has now won two straight against Bridgewater State after snapping a ten-game losing streak to the Bears last season. All-time, the Corsairs are 12-25 against their Southeastern Massachusetts rival.
The Bears held a 20-13 advantage in points off turnovers, while the Corsairs finished with a 20-4 edge in second-chance points.
The Corsairs continue their home stand on Thursday night, hosting Westfield State University at seven o'clock. The Bears will make the trip to Northfield, Vermont to face Trinity College in the opening round of the Ed Hockenbury Classic on Friday evening at eight.