Providence, RI-Sophomore forward Courtney Burns (Rockland, MA) scored a career-high 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting as Rhode Island College clobbered Plymouth State, 81-58, in Little East Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at The Murray Center.

The Anchorwomen (11-3, 3-2 LEC) are in sole possession of fourth place in the league, and one game out of second place, while the loss drops the Panthers (7-7, 1-4 LEC) into a sixth place tie as they suffer their sixth straight setback.

Junior guard Stephanie Coro (North Providence, RI) led all scorers with 25 points, 21 of which came in the first half on 7-for-10 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds. Burns led the squad with eight boards, a game-high five steals and three blocks.

Junior guard Nicole Girard (Foster, RI) dished out a game-high six assists in addition to a six-point and five-rebound effort. Sophomore guard Ashley O'Dell (Lincoln, RI) contributed 11 points, six boards and four assists off the bench.

The Anchorwomen opened the game on fire from three-point land, connecting on five treys in the opening 4:21. Coro paced the long-range fireworks with three trifectas.

The hosts quickly put the game out of reach, holding a double-digit advantage, 20-10, at the 14:00 mark. With the Panthers trailing by 15, 30-15, RIC rattled off a 21-4 run to close out the first stanza up by 32 points, 51-19. The Panthers were held to just one field goal over the final 12 minutes of the half.

The Anchorwomen shot 50 percent (18-for-36) from the field, knocked down 7-of-12 (58 percent) from downtown and cashed in 8-of-10 (80 percent) from the free throw line over the first 20 minutes. PSU turned the ball over 17 times and shot just 27 percent (6-for-22) from the field in that same time span.

The second half was a formality as RIC cruised to its third conference win. O'Dell made a layup 52 seconds in to give the Anchorwomen their largest lead, 53-20, and the Panthers never got closer than 22 points the rest of the way.

For the game, the Anchorwomen shot 44 percent (30-for-68) from the field, 47 percent (7-for-15) from downtown and 82 percent (14-for-17) from the line. The Panthers shot 31 percent (18-for-59) from the field, 23 percent (3-for-13) from the three-point line and 56 percent (19-for-34) from the free throw line.

PSU senior forward Amanda Kania (Manchester, NH) led three Panthers in double figures with 13 points. Junior guard Alicia Doucet (Manchester, NH), who came into the game leading the LEC in scoring at 18.5 points per game, was held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference play at home against Western Connecticut on Tuesday, Jan. 18.