Hartford, Conn. – Freshman forward Sha'Quira Palmer (Stratford, Conn.) had a game-high 15 points, sinking six of seven shots from the field, and five rebounds to lead the visiting Western Connecticut State University Colonials to a 60-57 victory over the Trinity College Bantams in women's basketball action this evening in Oosting Gymnasium. Trinity drops to 3-2 with its first loss in four games, while the Colonials improve to 5-1 with their third win in a row.

With the game tied at 53-53 after a layup by Trinity junior forward Taylor Murtaugh (New York, N.Y.) with 3:29 left in the game, Western Connecticut scored five straight points, including three on free throws by sophomore Caroline Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.), to take a 58-53 lead at the two-minute mark. Four foul shots by Bantam rookies Mackenzie Griffin (Stamford, Conn.) and Christina Raiti (Plainview, N.Y.) cut the Colonial lead to 58-57 with under a minute on the clock, but Western Connecticut senior guard Jackie Zilnicki (Riverhead, N.Y.) buried a turn-around jumper from 10 feet away with 28 seconds remaining to increase the visitors' lead to three points, and Trinity failed to get a shot off in the final seconds.

The Bantams came out strong, scoring the game's first six points and leading, 16-9, midway through, but Western Connecticut used a 9-0 run that included six points by Palmer, to go ahead, 18-16, with just over seven minutes left before the break. Trinity junior forward Shantel Hanniford (Nantucket, Mass.) tied the game at 28-28 on a layup with just under two minutes on the clock, but a three-pointer by Brasa and a free throw by Zilnicki gave the visitors a 32-28 halftime lead. Trinity scored seven unanswered points early in the second half to take a 37-34 lead on a foul shot by Murtaugh, but the Colonials answered with an 11-2 run to take a 45-39 lead with 11:25 left in the game. Back-to-back layups by Griffin and Murtaugh tied the contest at 53-apiece before Western Connecticut pulled away.

Trinity shot 31.3 percent from the field, made just one three-pointer in nine attempts, and missed seven free throws but stayed in the game by grabbing 22 offensive rebounds and forcing 19 turnovers. The Colonials shot 52.2 percent from the floor in the first half, but cooled to 34.8 percent in the second stanza. Murtaugh and junior center Emily Dixon (Norwood, Mass.) paced the Bantam offense with 12 points each, while Murtaugh grabbed seven rebounds, and Dixon totaled four boards. Griffin notched nine points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench, and junior Moriah Sweeney (Ramsey, N.J.) contributed seven points, seven boards, six assists, three steals, and a blocked shot for the Bantams. Zilnicki scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for the Colonials, while Brasa scored eight points and made four steals for Western Connecticut.