The University of the Virgin Islands Lady Buccaneers were manhandled by Universidad Metroplitana de Puerto Rico 58-37 Saturday in the first sporting event held in the new UVI Sports And Fitness Center.
The Lady Bucs held their own for the first minutes of the game, but UMET's defense soon took control and held UVI scoreless for more than seven minutes. UMET scored 12 points during UVI was on UVI's scoring drought, with Janelle Diaz accounting for eight. The score at halftime was 30-22.
The Lady Bucs dug themselves deeper at the start of the second half as UMET scored 11 unanswered points. The Lady Bucs never recovered.
Diaz was ejected late in the game for a fragrant foul on Lady Bucs' Monica Allen, retaliating for physical play. UMET head coach Juan Carlos Baez was unhappy with the officiating but felt his team played well despite missing a key player.
UMET shot 41 percent from the field while holding UVI to under 14 percent. Diaz led UMET with 17 points, while the Lady Bucs were led by Allen with 15 points.
