PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plymouth State University women's basketball team lost to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 69-54, in Little East Conference (LEC) action Saturday afternoon at Foley Gymnasium.
 
Despite shooting considerably better from the floor, Plymouth State ran into a strong defensive effort from the Corsairs who forced too many turnovers for the Panthers to come back from.
 
Junior Alessia Salzillo (Saugus, Mass.) led all scorers with 17 points, while sophomore Lauren Keller (Fort Morgan, Colo.) score 13 points of her own. Sophomore Jessica Ruiz (Lynn, Mass.) added eight points in the losing effort.
 
Once again, the Panthers played hard from start to finish, outscoring UMass Dartmouth 19-6 in the fourth quarter.
 
Plymouth State falls to 1-17 (0-13 LEC) on the season, while UMass Dartmouth improves to 15-6 and 9-3 in the LEC.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 54, UMass Dartmouth 69
  • Plymouth State (1-17, 0-13 LEC)
  • UMass Dartmouth (15-6, 9-3 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Alessia Salzillo (17 pts, 7 reb, 7-12 fg, 4 ast, 5 stl)
• Lauren Keller (13 pts, 7 reb, 3-7 3pt)
• Jessica Ruiz (8 pts)
• Jalen Cook (2 pts, 10 reb, 5 blk)

How it Happened:

• The Corsairs opened things up with a seven-point lead, 12-5, midway through the first quarter.
• UMass Dartmouth stretched the advantage to 12, 23-11, by the end of the first quarter.
• The Panthers opened the second quarter with six straight points, cutting the deficit in half, 23-17, with 7:00 to go.
• An 8-1 run to close out the second quarter, found the Corsairs back up by double digits, 40-27.
• UMass Dartmouth pulled away in the third quarter, but once again the Panthers erupted in the fourth quarter, outscoring the visitors 19-6 in a great display on both sides of the court.
• The Panthers held UMass Dartmouth to only one field goal in the entire fourth quarter.

By the Numbers:

• The Panthers went 22-of-54 (40.7%) from the floor, and 4-of-14 (28.6%) from three.
• PSU outrebounded the Corsairs by a 42-38 margin.
• PSU had 13 assists on their 22 field goals.
• Plymouth State recorded six blocks in the contest, including five by junior Jalen Cook (Monkton, Vt.) alone.
• UMass Dartmouth had 20 steals to the Panthers' nine.
• PSU's 54 points were the most in their last nine games.

 
Up Next:

• The two teams have a quick turnaround as they square off again tomorrow (Feb. 13) at the Tripp Athletic Center at 1:00 p.m.

 
 
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