PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior Melissa Teel (Hamden, Conn.), the reigning Little East Conference Player of the Year, recorded game highs of 25 points and 18 rebounds Saturday afternoon as Western Connecticut State University downed Plymouth State University, 71-51, in LEC women's basketball action at Foley Gymnasium.
Teel, a 6'2" center, converted 11-of-17 points for the winners while freshman Sciarra Brandt (Thomaston, Conn.) also registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Senior Karli Spera (Waterford, Conn.) contributed 15 points, five assists and five steals as WestConn improved to 17-3 overall and 9-1 in conference play, tied for first place with Southern Maine.
Sophomore Colleen O'Hara (Otego, N.Y.) topped the Panther with a career-high 17 points and eight rebounds, while junior Alicia Doucet (Manchester, N.H./Central) finished with 12 points and eight boards. Doucet's final two points in the last minute of play put her over the 1,000-point plateau for her career, making her the 11th player in the progam's history to reach the milestone.
Teel also finished four points short of reaching the 1,000-point milestone for the visitors.
The Colonials, who received votes in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, scored 12 unanswered points midway through the first half, turning a seven-point lead into a 19-point margin with four minutes to go in the half. It was a 25-point advantage at halftime, but a determined PSU squad battled back to cut the margin to 14 points, 54-40, at the midway point of the second half. WestConn answered with a 15-4 spurt over the next six minutes to put the game away.
The Panthers, 8-12 overall and 1-9 in LEC play, hit the road for two conference games next week, beginning Tuesday at the University of Southern Maine. WestConn returns home to host Rhode Island College on Tuesday.
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