WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth missed ten of its first 11 shots from the floor, but ultimately, it was an inability to convert its own field goals that spelled doom for Eastern Connecticut State University, which dropped a 54-41 Little East Conference women's basketball decision Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

At right: Taylor McBride

After halting Eastern's (16-7, 8-4 Little East) season-high six-game winning streak a month ago at home, UMass Dartmouth (14-9, 7-5 Little East) ended the Warriors' current four-game streak Saturday and dropped Eastern into a tie for second place in the conference with two regular-season LEC games remaining. An Eastern win would have moved the Warriors to within a game of first place Rhode Island College, which lost a 64-48 road decision to defending champion University of Southern Maine.

Last year's LEC tournament finalist for the first time, UMass Dartmouth maintains a share of fourth place in the conference (the top four seeds host first-round tournament games a week from Tuesday) with Western Connecticut. The Colonials trimmed visiting Keene State College, 61-55, Saturday.

Against UMass Dartmouth, Eastern raced to its largest lead, 11-2, by canning four of five shots in one stretch after a cold start, but shot just 22.4 percent the rest of the way in falling to the Corsairs for the third straight time – its longest such losing streak to UMD in this 72-game series. Eastern entered play having won all five of its conference home games and was 9-2 overall at Geissler Gym.

Leading by four, 28-24, four minutes into the second half, the Warriors went cold, allowing the visitors to rip off eight straight points and move out to a four-point, 32-28 lead with 12 minutes left. The Warriors' final lead came with eight minutes left, 35-34, on freshman guard Jordyn Nappi's (Southington) runner in the paint. After that field goal by Nappi – who scored nine of her team-high 13 points in the first half – sophomore forward Beth Castantini (Newburyport, MA) sank two free throws, then swished a three-point field goal to cap a decisive seven-point UMD run that lifted the Corsairs into a six-point, 41-35 lead with 6:31 left.

Hoping to whittle points off the deficit, the Warriors missed 13 of their final 15 shots as the Corsairs pulled away to sweep the regular-season conference series for the first time in the 28-year history of the Little East.

UMass, which was perfect on ten free throws in the game, got 15 points from Castantini, 14 from 6-foot-2 inch senior forward Erika Bornemann and ten from junior guard Kelsey Garrity. After being outrebounded by seven in the first win over Eastern, the Corsairs finished with a +5 advantage this time. Junior forward Erin Fahey came off the bench for a game-high ten rebounds, freshman guard Ashley Brown grabbing nine and Garrity and 6-0 freshman forward Megan Ronaghan eight each.

 Behind Bornemann, UMass blocked 11 Eastern shots. Bornemann swatted five to give her a conference-leading 52.

Eastern sophomore forward Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA), the conference's second-leading rebounder, matched Fahey with ten boards. Junior guard Taylor McBride (Willimantic) had six points, five rebounds and five assists for Eastern.

Eastern hosts Western Connecticut State University Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in a Little East Conference game.