Anchorwomen get win, tie record

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WPRI) - Senior guard Stephanie Coro recorded her first career double-double with a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Rhode Island College women's basketball team to a 70-52 win over UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday night at the Tripp Athletic Center.

Coro raised her career point total to 1,429, passing RIC Athletic Hall of Famer and current Assistant Athletic Director Jo-Ann D'Alessandro '88 (1,426) for second in program history. She previously broke D'Alessandro's career scoring mark while at North Providence High School from 2004-08.

Rhode Island College (20-2, 11-0 LEC) equaled the program record for wins in a season, tying the 1997-98 and 2010-11 edition's respective efforts. The Anchorwomen currently hold the program record for the best winning percentage in a season.

"We responded to a big challenge from a very good UMass Dartmouth team tonight," RIC Head Coach Marcus Reilly said. "We needed to do a better job of executing and taking care of the ball in the second half and we were able to do that and get some great scoring opportunities. Stephanie was excellent tonight in taking great shots within our system and consistently knocking them down when we needed it most."

Senior forward Rachel Riley just missed a double-double of her own with 15 points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Cynthia Gaudet and junior forward Courtney Burns also reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively,

RIC, which dominated UMass Dartmouth (14-8, 5-6 LEC), 62-23, on Jan. 17, found itself tied, 32-32, at the half with the Corsairs. The Anchorwomen used a 12-3 run to open the second half to open a 44-35 lead and never looked back, holding a double-digit advantage for much of the final 10 minutes.

The visitors shot 47 percent (27-for-57) from the field and 43 percent (6-for-14) from downtown, five of which came courtesy of Coro. UMD shot 32 percent (20-for-63) from the field and struggled mightily from three-point land in the second half, making just 2-of-12, and 5-of-21 (24 percent) for the game. The Anchorwomen held a slight edge in rebounding, 39-37, and turned the ball over one more time than UMD, 15-14.

Junior center Colleen Moriarty registered 16 points for the hosts.