Providence, R.I.-Junior Sophomore Vandell Andrade (Providence, RI) tallied 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocks to lead the Rhode Island College women's basketball team to a 65-56 victory over Western Connecticut on Tuesday night at The Murray Center in Little East Conference action.

Senior guard Stephanie Prusko (Lincoln, RI) added 17 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists for Rhode Island College (16-6, 10-1 LEC), while senior forward Cara Paladino (Arlington, MA) chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman guard Alex Moore (West Newbury, MA) registered 12 points, six rebounds and four assists for the first place Anchorwomen, who have won 13 of their last 15 contests and sealed the regular season-sweep of the Colonials with Tuesday's win.  

Freshman guard Colleen Cosker (East Hartford, CT) carried Western Connecticut (14-7, 7-4 LEC) with 19 points, five assists and four steals, while sophomore guard Kerri Stolle (Warren, CT) recorded 11 points and three rebounds. Senior forward Sciarra Brandt (Thomaston, CT) contributed eight points and four assists, while freshman forward Alyssa Eannotti (Shelton, CT) added eight points as well.

Although the visitors took an early, 5-4, lead following a trey from Stolle just three and a half minutes into the action, the Anchorwomen quickly bounced back to regain the advantage and eventually pushed their lead to seven, 19-12, after a three-point play from Andrade at the 7:07 mark.

However, the Colonials rallied to close out the frame on a 16-10 scoring run and went into halftime trailing by just one, 29-28. Rhode Island College outrebounded Western Connecticut, 23-10, through the first 20 minutes, but shot just 37 percent (10-for-27) on the offensive end and committed 10 turnovers. 

After a layup from Cosker at the 18:17 mark gave the Colonials a 32-31 lead, Rhode Island College immediately responded with six straight points over the next minute and a half to take a 37-32 lead over Western, keyed by back-to-back buckets from Prusko. The two squads exchanged baskets over the next four minutes, until a layup from Andrade and a trey from Prusko extended RIC's lead to eight, 46-38, with 12:37 remaining.

Although sophomore guard Danielle LeBlanc (Warwick, RI) buried a pair of free throws to increase the Anchorwomen lead to 10 with 11:49 on the clock, the Colonials answered back with a 12-5 scoring run of their own over the next five minutes to trim the margin down to three, 53-50, following a jumper from Cosker with 6:03 left to play. However, Western Connecticut would not come any closer, as Rhode Island College finished the game on a 12-6 scoring run to seal the nine-point, 65-56, victory over the Colonials.

RIC shot 45 percent (24-for-53) from the floor for the game, which included a 54 percent (14-for-26) shooting clip in the second half alone. The Anchorwomen also shot 80 percent (16-for-20) from the free throw line, but connected on just nine percent (1-for-11) of its three-pointers.

Western shot at a 46 percent (20-for-44) clip for the game, including a 50 percent (11-for-22) mark in the second half. The Colonials shot 74 percent (14-for-19) from charity stripe and shot 29 percent (2-for-7) from beyond the three-point arc.

Rhode Island College outrebounded Western Connecticut, 37-21, in the win and gathered a grand total of 15 offensive rebounds. The Anchorwomen also totaled 34 points in the paint and blocked six shots on the evening.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference play at Southern Maine on Saturday, Feb. 15 (1 p.m.).