DARTMOUTH, Mass. – As Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball begins the second half of their season, the team is still looking to find its identity. After winning five of six going into the winter break, the Warriors had dropped three consecutive games after missing four key players in the Naismith Classic at Springfield College and then facing preseason conference favorite Rhode Island College at home without a trio of key players.
 
The common theme in those three games was the third quarter in which Eastern was held to single-digit point totals and outscored by an average of 13 points in each contest. Looking to snap the losing streak in their first game since January 5^th, the Warriors (6-8, 3-2 LEC) visited UMass Dartmouth at Tripp Athletic Center where they had won two of their last five head-to-head matchups with the Corsairs (8-4, 2-1 LEC).
 
Once again, the third quarter would prove to be Eastern's crux after a 10-point halftime lead evaporated when they were outscored 20-9 by UMass Dartmouth in the third quarter and lost a nail-biter to the Corsairs on Monday night, 51-49.
 
Earning her 15^th career double-double and second of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds, senior forward Anna Barry (Andover) was lights out for the Warriors early on. The Andover native began the game with Eastern's first seven points en route to a 13-point first quarter on 4-for-4 shooting from the field and making 5-of-6 free throws. Sloppy ball handling to the tune of 12 turnovers and 2-for-12 shooting from the field in the opening 10 minutes of the game for the Corsairs would allow the Warriors to jump out to a 13-point lead, 17-4.
 
UMass Dartmouth jumped out to a quick 5-0 run with a quick two by senior guard Jessica Carroll and three-pointer by senior guard Jordan Moretti to cut Eastern's lead down to eight points. Behind a combined eight points from senior guards Julie Keckler (Trumbull) and Jenna Serrantino (Cromwell) along with a pair of free throws from first-year guard Kya Mayo (Middletown), the Warriors were able to keep pace with the Corsairs and head into halftime up by double-digits.
 
Like Eastern's last three opponents, UMass Dartmouth would make the halftime adjustments necessary to get them back into the game. In just over 2 ½ minutes, the Corsairs began a 6-0 run to quickly pull within four before Serrantino hit a jumper with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter to give the Warriors their first basket of the half. But the rest of the quarter was owned by UMass Dartmouth and an 11-0 run, which saw them take their first lead of the game with 2:36 left in the frame, led the Corsairs to a four-point advantage, 34-30 with 1:34 left. Making 6-of-8 free throws during the final 1 ½ minutes, Eastern trimmed their deficit down to one, 37-36, with one quarter remaining.
 
Serrantino opened up the fourth quarter for the Warriors that saw them pull back ahead by two with nine minutes to go in regulation. But UMass Dartmouth came roaring back again with a 6-0 run behind four consecutive points from Carroll to leapfrog Eastern and open up a four-point lead, 43-39. The Corsairs maintained that four-point advantage until the closing minutes of the fourth as the Warriors continued to try fighting their way back into the contest with a pair of layups from Barry and a three from senior guard Danielle O'Brien (Rockland, MA) to get within one with 1:30 left in regulation.
 
With 54 seconds left in the contest, senior guard Meagan Donovan drove to the hoop against Mayo who forced a jump ball and gave Eastern the ball back with 49 seconds remaining and a chance to take the lead. The Warriors would do just that as Mayo hit her first field goal of the game from just beyond the free throw line with 22 seconds left to put Eastern in front, 49-48.
 
After a UMass Dartmouth timeout, Donovan would take the in bounds pass in isolation with O'Brien and journey towards the hoop. The senior's shot would miss off the backboard and a scrum would ensue for the ball before Mayo grabbed the ball with her foot on the line, giving the Corsairs another chance to take the lead. Donovan drove towards the hoop again before kicking it out to junior guard Haley Reinold who knocked down a three, putting UMass Dartmouth ahead by two, 51-49.
 
With no timeouts remaining, the Warriors were forced to drive down the court with seven seconds left as Keckler weaved between the Corsairs defense towards the hoop. Senior forward Lauren Empey, who briefly trailed Keckler, was able to make up a step on her and knock down her lay up attempt with 0.7 seconds remaining. Empey would go down hard on the play and be lifted for senior guard Caroline Wilson for the final play of the game. Unable to locate Barry in the paint who was double teamed by the UMass Dartmouth defense, Keckler found Mayo on the left side of the court for a jumper which was blocked by Wilson as the final buzzer sounded, giving the Corsairs their ninth block of the game and second in the final second as Eastern fell 51-49 on the road.
 
Jessica Carroll led the way for Corsairs with 13 points and combined with Haley Reinold for 12 of the 14 fourth quarter points for UMass Dartmouth, all five of Reinold's points came in the closing frame after starting the game 0-for-4 from the field.
 
Despite finishing with 12 first quarter turnovers, the Corsairs committed just eight turnovers the rest of the way for a total of 20 on the evening which led to 19 points for Eastern. For the Warriors, they would commit 22 turnovers leading to 20 UMass Dartmouth points in the game. The Eastern bench would also be outscored 19-1.
 
After scoring 13 points in the first quarter, the rest of Anna Barry's 21 points would come in the second half as she finished the game shooting 6-of-11 and 9-for-11 from the field throw line. 13 rebounds by Barry would give the six-foot forward her second double-double of the season and 15^th in three seasons.
 
The Warriors continue their four-game road trip on Wednesday night at Feldman Arena against Western Connecticut State University. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 PM. Eastern has won five of their last six and 14 of their last 15 against WestConn dating back to the 2013-2014 season, their last loss came on the road during the 2017-2018 season, 88-81. In the 2019-2020 season, the Warriors swept WestConn in the home and home series by 12 points at Feldman Arena and eight points in Geissler Gymnasium.