Anchorwomen Storm Back to Defeat Warriors, 61-59

More news about: Rhode Island College

Willimantic, Conn.-Freshman guard Jess Korzec (West Brookfield, MA) led four Anchorwomen in double figures with 18 points as the Rhode Island College women's basketball team rallied for a 61-59 victory, their fourth straight, topping Eastern Connecticut in Little East Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

The two squads battled back and forth over the first 10 minutes of play with Eastern (11-6, 5-2 LEC) holding a narrow, 16-12, advantage over the Anchorwomen (6-11, 4-3 LEC) with 10:06 left in the half.

The Warriors increased their lead to 10, 32-22, following a made free throw from senior forward Shannon McCourt (New Fairfield, CT) with 2:50 remaining in the half. A layup from RIC sophomore guard Alex Moore (West Newbury, MA) cut the host's lead down to eight, 32-24, with 1:23 to play, but another made free throw by McCourt sent the game into halftime with the Warriors holding a 10 point, 35-25, advantage.

RIC shot 34.6 percent in the half while ECSU converted on 48.4 percent of their shots from the floor in the stanza.

The second half saw a seesaw battle, with the teams trading baskets early. A free throw from RIC junior guard Michelle Lagrotteria (Niantic, CT) with 11:48 left, cut the Warriors lead back down to 10, 48-38. With the Warriors holding a 12-point advantage, RIC began their comeback. A trifecta from Moore with 8:38 remaining cut the lead to single digits, 51-44. A Korzec layup cut the Eastern lead to one, 57-56, with a jump shot from Moore putting the Anchorwomen up one, 58-57, with 44 seconds left in the game. The Anchorwomen wouldn't look back, hitting three clutch free throws down the stretch to take the, 61-59, victory.

RIC was led by Korzec's 18, while junior forward Devin Hill (Danielson, CT) pitched in 16 of her own. Moore scored 13 points and grabbed seven boards, with Lagrotteria rounding out the Anchorwomen scoring in double figures with 10 points. The Anchorwomen shot 41.5 percent from the floor (22-for-52), 33.3 percent (4-for-12) from behind the three-point arc and 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the charity stripe.

Eastern was led by McCourts's double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds, while senior guard Kristina Forsman (Newington, CT) and sophomore guard Julia DePoi (Brookfield, CT) led the Eastern attack with 12 points apiece. The Warriors shot 38.1 percent (24-for-63) from the field, 28.6 percent (4-for-15) from downtown and 63.6 percent (7-for-11) from the charity stripe.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference action at UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday, Jan. 27 (5:30 p.m.).