Del Valle's double-double not enough against Beacons

NEWPORT, R.I. - Junior forward Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) scored 12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half but it was not enough as the Salve Regina University women's basketball team fell to visiting UMass Boston, 60-54, in non-league action at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

The game went scoreless for the first three minutes until Beacons sophomore forward Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) connected on a layup at 16:34. All 28 first-half points for UMass Boston came from inside the paint. The Beacons were 0-for-7 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes and misfired on all three free-throw attempts.

Seahawk freshman guard Kelsey Kennedy (Medford, N.J.) came off the bench and immediately made an impact with her 3-pointer at 13:39 to give her team an 8-6 lead.

Junior center Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) did the same for UMass Boston and finished with 10 first-half points as the Beacons kept looking inside. Morrison also had four caroms off the offensive glass in the opening period.

Murphy's layup at 5:46 in the first gave UMass Boston its largest lead (22-12) before a 7-0 run for the Seahawks cut the deficit to three. Freshman Jillian Woodward (Orono, Maine) scored on a layup with an assist from Madelyn Brackett (Coopersville, Mich.). Brackett and senior Lisa Bucci (Irvington, N.Y.) both picked off passes before Bucci connected on her first 3-pointer of the game.

Brackett later followed with a basket on her only attempt of the game making the score, 22-19. Following a Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.) layup at 2:36, Salve Regina struck with the long ball again with Cortney Rosenlund (Whitinsville, Mass.) making it a two-point game, 24-22.

The Beacons had the last two baskets of the first half for a six-point lead (28-22) at intermission.

Lauren Perra (Taunton, Mass.) made the Beacons' first basket outside the paint, a 3-pointer at 18:34 in the second half. Del Valle followed with her layup and then Marissa Pendergast (Medfield, Mass.) scored the next four points.

Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) and Shelby Buck (Greenfield, Ohio) traded 3-point baskets on back-to-back possession leaving the score at 45-36 at 10:53 remaining. UMass Boston had one field goal the rest of the way (a Murphy layup at 2:44) as Harden's free throws at 1:43 made it a two-point game (54-52).

Murphy and Andrea Suffredini (Milford, Mass.) both blocked 3-point attempts from the Seahawks in the final two and a half minutes with Beacon teammates grabbing the defensive rebounds on both plays.

UMass Boston made six of nine free throws down the stretch while Salve Regina managed a Del Valle layup for the final margin. Morrison led all scorers with 18 points while Murphy finished with 14 points for the visitors. Harden joined Del Valle in double-figure scoring with 12 points while Pendergast added a dozen rebounds.

Salve Regina resumes its conference schedule with a home doubleheader against Nichols College on Saturday (women at 1 p.m. and men at 3 p.m.). Both games broadcast on the Salve Regina athletics ustream.tv network with Bobb Angel of WADK-AM 1540 providing the play-by-play call. The Beacons continue their travels on Monday at Brandeis University.