WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Third-seeded University of Massachusetts Dartmouth never trailed after the first basket of the game, recording 26 points in the game on fast-break baskets and moving into the championship game of the  2021 Little East Conference women's basketball tournament with a 67-57 semifinal victory over second-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University Thursday evening at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
 
Ten weeks after losing by ten points to Eastern at Geissler Gym, UMass (20-7) won the rubber game of the season series behind 20 points from senior guard Jordan Moretti and nine rebounds from senior guard Meagan Donovan and moved into the tournament final for the fourth time in program history, in search of its first title.
 
UMass Dartmouth will visit top-seeded and defending champion Rhode Island College Saturday in the title game. The Anchorwomen eliminated fourth-seeded University of Southern Maine, 59-37, in the other Thursday semifinal. The teams have never met in the championship game
 
As the top seed in 2018 and 2019, the Corsairs lost at home in the championship game, falling 77-72 in overtime in 2019 when Eastern (18-9) won the first of two straight LEC titles. The loss to the Corsairs Thursday ended a five-game tournament winning streak for the Warriors, who did not compete in last year's LEC tournament (won by Rhode Island College) after cancelling their season.
 
Eastern had 12-game winning streak and six-game home winning streak ended against UMass, which won its fourth straight and improved to 10-2 on the road this year.
 
Moretti, who was held to 15 points on 3-of-23 shooting against Eastern in the regular season, consistently beat the Eastern defense on drives to the basket Thursday. She was 6-of-15 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the foul line with six rebounds and three assists.
 
UMass outran the Warriors throughout the game, outscoring the hosts, 16-0 on the break in building a 12-point, 35-23, lead.  The Warriors trailed by as many as 16   three minutes into the third quarter but were able to cut the lead to seven after three quarters and used a 20-9 run to get as close as five points, 50-45, midway through the final quarter on a three-point field goal from senior guard Danielle O'Brien (Rockland, MA) and a layup by senior forward Anna Barry (Andover) off a UMass turnover.
 
Nursing that five-point lead, the Corsairs took command for good midway through the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run that allowed them to open up a 12-point lead with just under two minutes left. While the Warriors were missing three of four shots, UMass got points from four different players, with Donovan sinking a three-pointer in the run and Moretti sealing it with two free throws.
 
Junior forward Haley Reinold came off the bench to replace Shaelyn Carreiro – the Corsairs' second-leading scorer this year -- less than two minutes into the game after Carreiro picked up her second foul and finished with eight points, four rebounds and four assists to spark her team to a 16-6 advantage in bench points in the game.
 
Senior forward Caroline Wilson  followed Moretti with 11 points for UMass, while Reinold grabbed six rebounds as the Corsairs became only the second LEC team this year to outrebound Eastern (42-37). They finished with a 42-37 advantage.
 
Barry led all players with 22 points and led her team with seven rebounds, with O'Brien adding 14 points (four three-pointers), six steals and four rebounds. Senior guard Julie Keckler (Trumbull) had seven assists and senior forward Aiyana Ward (Waterbury) adding seven points and six rebounds. Barry moved to within 22 points of 1,000 in her career and had three blocked shots to extend her career-leading total of 184.
 
Eastern shot just 28.6 percent from the floor in the game, including 4-of-24 from distance.