DANBURY, Conn. – Five players contributed points in a 17-3 run over seven minutes in the first half as the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with a wire-to-wire 76-47 Little East Conference victory over Western Connecticut State University Wednesday evening at the Stephen Feldman Arena.
Playing its first game in two weeks, Eastern (4-8, 2-2 LEC) limited WestConn (4-9, 0-4 LEC) to 27 percent shooting (3-of-16 from distance) and just 15 first-half points as the Warriors won away from home for only the second time in six games – first since the third game of the season Nov. 18.
WestConn had a three-game winning streak snapped in losing its tenth in a row to Eastern and 19th in the last 20 meetings. The Wolves' point total was their second-lowest of the season.
Junior Taylor Salato (East Haven) of Eastern decisively won the battle of two of the LEC's top two post players, finishing with her first double-double since Nov. 18. The six-foot Salato finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in 32 minutes. She was 8-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the foul line. Inside counterpart Gabrielle Franks, WestConn's 6-foot-2 inch center, totalled 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks. While Eastern was running away with a 20-point halftime lead, Franks was 1-of-9 from the floor with four rebounds.
In the 17-3 scoring burst that turned a three-point lead into a 17-point bulge (26-9) three minutes into the second quarter, Salato had five points, senior forward Emily Jeamel (Manchester) and first-year point guard Nevaeh Clark (Cromwell) four each, and junior guard Kaya Mayo (Middletown) and senior guard Cara McGettigan (Southbury) two each.
After Franks sank a free throw and scored inside (her first points of the game) off an Eastern turnover that ended the first half with Eastern leading by six, the Wolves went silent through the first 3:15 of the thirdd quarter as the Warriors scored the first nine points of the quarter that boosted the lead to 17, 26-9.
Western was able to knock four points off Eastern's 19 point lead midway through the third quarter, but the Warriors responded with a nine-point run that pushed the lead back to 26, 56-30 in the final seconds of the quarter. Clark contributed two buckets in that stretch off passes from first-year guard Julia Knowles (Waterford) and Jeamel, respectively, with Salato chipping in three with a jumper and free throw and Jeamel three with her only three-point attempt of the game. Knowles drilled a long two-pointer to get the scoring burst going.
Behind Salato, Clark finished with 16 points (7-of-11 FG) and seven assists, with four additional players contributing significantly in all areas. Mayo had eight points, eight rebounds and six assists, McGettigan eight points, five rebounds and four assists, and Knowles nine points, five assists and four rebounds. In a career-high 17 minutes, Jeamel had a career-high nine points (4-of-5 FG) and grabbed four rebounds.
Behind Franks' 11 points, junior guard Nicole Peralta had nine points for WestConn. Peralta scored her team's first six points on a pair of three-pointers in the first six minutes but was held pointless the rest of the half, managing only a three-pointer with her team down by 20 that opened the second half.
Eastern visits Wheaton College Saturday at 1 p.m. in a non-conference game.