DANBURY, Conn. - Senior Sara Macary (Naugatuck, Conn.) had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Western Connecticut State University Wolves to a 77-73 win over the visiting University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Corsairs in Little East Conference (LEC) women's basketball action this afternoon at Feldman Arena.  WestConn closes the regular season at 10-15, having gone 5-5 over its last 10 games after a 5-10 start, and finishes with a 5-11 record in the LEC.  UMass Dartmouth completes its regular season at 10-15 overall and 7-9 in the league.  The Wolves, which snap a 17-game losing streak versus UMass Dartmouth, will qualify for the LEC Championship Tournament for the first time since 2022 if Eastern Connecticut loses against Plymouth State later today.  The Corsairs have qualified for the LEC Tourney, which opens with first round action on Tuesday, February 24.

WestConn tied the score for the first time since the opening tip when senior forward Leana Heitmann (East Syracuse, N.Y.) made a jumper with two seconds left in the third quarter to knot it up at 57-all.  Macary scored back-to-back buckets to open the fourth quarter, while Heitman and senior guard Francesca Foster (Mystic, Conn.) combined for six points to push the Wolves lead to 67-59 at the 5:28 mark of the fourth.  The Corsairs outscored WestConn, 10-4, over a three-minute span late, including six points by Yasmine Santos, and tied the game up again, 73-73, with a minute remaining.  Macary converted on an assist by sophomore guard Gianna Castellano (East Haven, Conn.) to put the Wolves back ahead, 75-73, and the home team came up with two clutch stops in the final minute.  Heitman hit two more free throws with six ticks left to put it out of reach and give WestConn its first win over the Corsairs since 2016.

UMass Dartmouth had led by as many as nine points in the first quarter, but Macary scored inside in the final to make the score, 19-14, at the first break.  Melanie DeMeo made a pair of free throws at the 8:04 mark of the second frame to give the visitors a double-digit lead at 25-14, and she added a steal and fastbreak layup with 45 seconds on the clock to put the Corsairs up, 42-33, at halftime.  WestConn scored 24 points in the third quarter to turn a 44-33 deficit in the opening minute into a tie game.  Senior guard Malaysia Dingle (Brockton, Mass.) scored on a drive to make it, 49-44, in the visitors' favor at the halfway point of the third, while consecutive baskets by Castellano and Macary cut the Corsair lead to 53-52 with 1:19 on the clock.  Santos scored twice in a row, but Castellano answered with a drive and the UMass Dartmouth bench was assessed a technical.  Heitmann took advantage of for two more points to pull WestConn to within a bucket at 57-55 with nine seconds on the clock and scored the game-tying shot moments later.

WestConn dominated the boards with a 50-to-36 advantage, including 18 on the offensive end, and had 46 points in the paint to 30 for UMass Dartmouth.  Sophomore forward Fatmata Barrie (Staten Island, N.Y.) pulled down a game-high 14 boards to go with her 13 points and three assists.  Castellano and Heitmann scored 12 points apiece, while Heitman also had six rebounds and five assists and Castellano added four rebounds and three assists.  Dingle scored nine points and Forster collected six points and a game-high five steals.  Santos led all scorers with 24 points, making 12 of 14 shots from the foul line, and grabbed a team-high nine boards.  DeMeo had 18 points and Kaila Pruitt contributed eight points, five rebounds and two blocks for the Corsairs.