WILLIMANTIC, Conn.  --  Freshman forward Nakira Examond forced overtime by scoring on a putback with 0.8 seconds left in regulation and junior forward Megan Ronaghan opened overtime with two jumpers that carried the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to a 72-65 overtime comeback victory over Eastern Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

UMass Dartmouth (15-8, 5-7 LEC) outscored Eastern (17-6, 9-3 LEC) 14-5 over the final 3:25 of regulation to erase a nine-point deficit and eventually avenge a 19-point loss in the first meeting between the teams exactly a month ago at Dartmouth, MA.

With two regular-season conference games remaining, Eastern and Keene State College (who square off Wednesday at Keene, NH) are tied atop the conference standings while UMass Dartmouth is sixth. The top four seeds host the bottom four seeds in the LEC first round Feb. 23.

Eastern led by one, 59-58, but made only one of two free throws with 14.1 seconds left. UMass Dartmouth inbounded at half court following a timeout. The Corsairs missed the potential game-tying shot in the paint with time running out, but Examond was alone on the weak side and put the ball back in to tie the game at 60-all with 0.8 seconds left.

 With two Eastern starters and one key substitute on the bench with five fouls in overtime, UMass never trailed in overtime. The Corsairs got a pair of short jumpers from Ronaghan around an Eastern miss to jump out to a 64-60 lead and pushed the advantage to nine, 70-61, on a pair of free throws by  senior guard Colleen Kane with two minutes left in the five-minute extra session.

Limited to a combined six points in the first half, Ronaghan  and senior forward Beth Castantini keyed the tying 14-5 surge late in regulation. Castantini had two conventional three-point plays and Ronaghan one. After Eastern senior forward Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA) sank a pair of free throws to push Eastern into a comfortable five-point lead with 1:07 left, Ronaghan converted one free throw, then completed a three-point play with a free throw off a steal by junior guard Adi Alicea-Cordero to slice Eastern's lead to one, 59-58, with 17.2 seconds left. Eastern's season scoring and rebounding leader, Ritrosky fouled out on the play.

Ronaghan played the final four minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime with four personal fouls. Eastern senior forward Erin Brooks (Billerica, MA) and junior center Lexis Foster (Groton) drew their fifth personal fouls 49 seconds apart in the final three minutes of regulation.

Ronaghan led all players with 20 points and also grabbed eight rebounds, while  sophomore guard Chelsea Houlihan had 16 points (7-of-10) from the floor before fouling out with 1:07 left. Examond was the fifth personal foul casualty of the game when she was ejected with 3:54 left in overtime after scoring 12 points and grabbing a team-high ten rebounds.

Eastern junior guard Jordyn Nappi (Southington) led the Warriors with 19 points – 12 in the first half. Ritrosky added 15 points and junior guard Julie DePoi (Brookfield) had ten points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

UMass was 22-of-34 from the foul line, 17-of-22 after the first half. The Warriors sank 20 of 27 from the stripe but missed 16 of 19 three-pointers and shot just 33.9 percent from the field in the game.