Pride Lose to Corsairs in Home Opener

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College stayed with UMass Dartmouth through the first half of Saturday's home opener, but the Corsairs pulled away in the second half to defeat the Pride, 78-63, in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball game at Higgins Court.

Courtney Doherty (Willimantic, Conn.) led the Pride with 21 points and five assists, plus she pulled down eight rebounds, while Jordyn Striggles (Raynham, Mass.) contributed 16 points. Madi Zancan (Cumberland, R.I.) notched her second double-double in as many games with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Haley Lightbody (Reading, Mass.) contributed six points and six rebounds off the bench.

Regis scored the first eight points of the game, with Doherty responsible for the initial four points, and then Striggles hit a three-pointer and a layup to give the Pride a 13-4 advantage midway through the opening period. The Corsairs rattled off eight straight points to close to within one point before Doherty broke the scoring string with a three-pointer.

A traditional three-point play from Melanie DeMeo and a layup by Tyah Pettaway allowed UMass Dartmouth to pull ahead at the end of the first quarter, 17-16. The Corsairs went on an 11-4 scoring run to increase their lead to 30-22, but the Pride responded with a 10-2 scoring run, capped by a layup from Lightbody, to tie the game at 32-32. DeMeo hit two free throws in the final seconds of the period to give the visitors a 36-34 halftime advantage.

The Corsairs opened the third quarter with a 10-3 scoring run, capped by a traditional three-point play from Carly Whiteside. UMass Dartmouth put the game away by scoring the first 10 points of the fourth quarter, holding the Pride scoreless through the first three-and-a-half minutes of the final period.

After the Corsairs established their largest lead of the night at 75-53 on a layup by Teja Andrews, the Pride put together a 10-0 scoring stretch, capped by a traditional three-point play from Doherty. However, there was only one minute left in regulation, and the home team ran out of time before it could extend the rally.

Whiteside led the Corsairs in scoring with 21 points, plus she pulled down seven rebounds, while DeMeo finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Pettaway also grabbed nine rebounds to go along with 10 points, and Andrews added nine points, five rebounds, and four steals.

Regis (0-2) heads to Worcester, Mass. to face WPI Tuesday, Nov. 14, for a 7 p.m. tipoff.