Danbury, Conn.-Senior forward Courtney Burns (Rockland, MA) scored a career-high 27 points as Rhode Island College defeated Western Connecticut, 61-54, in Little East Conference women's basketball action played at Feldman Arena on Wednesday evening.

Burns added six boards and two steals, while playing all but one minute for the Anchorwomen (14-10, 7-6). She shot 9-of-15 from the field and was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Freshman forward Vandell Andrade (Providence, RI) hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with seven points and three blocks. Freshman guard Danielle LeBlanc (Warwick, RI) chipped in with six points, five boards and six assists.

The Colonials (17-7, 9-4 LEC) were led by junior forward Chelsea Mone (Bristol, CT) who scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Nicole Eanniello (Danbury, CT) added 11 points for Western.

 Mone scored four of Western's first five points as the Colonials moved out to an early 5-2 lead.  Rhode Island College then went on a 6-0 run over the next two minutes for an 8-5 lead. 

 A layup by Burns extended the visitors' lead to four points, 12-8, but a 6-2 run by Western evened the score at 14-14. 

 Both teams struggled to score over the next five minutes and at the 2:32 mark the contest remained tied, 18-18.  After RIC took a 21-18 lead, Nicole Eanniello (Danbury, CT) hit a jumper to make the score 21-20,

 Sophomore guard Megan Sewall (Portsmouth, RI) hit a three-pointer from just in the mid-court line to make the score 24-20 in favor of Rhode Island College at intermission.

 A three-pointer by Jackie Zilnicki (Riverhead, NY) gave Western back the lead, 31-30 with 15:10 remaining in the game. Sciarra Brandt (Thomaston, CT) canned a jumper 35 seconds later to give the hometowners their largest lead, 33-30.

 After a bucket by senior forward Alexia Vega (North Providence, RI) put the Anchrowomen back up for good, 34-33 and they never trailed the final 13:40.

RIC shot 47 percent (22-for-47) from the field, 17 percent (1-for-6) from downtown and 80 percent (16-for-20) from the charity stripe. Western shot 36 percent (20-for-55) from the field, 56 percent (5-for-9) from three-point land and 64 percent (9-for-14) from the free throw line.

 The Anchorwomen held the advantage in rebounding by eight, 35-27.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will close out the regular season at Keene State on Saturday, Feb. 16 (1 p.m.).