Willimantic, Conn.-The Rhode Island College women's basketball team dropped a 70-42 decision against Eastern Connecticut in a Little East Conference contest played at Geissler Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

RIC (5-14, 2-7 LEC) was led by freshman guard Jordyn Gauvin (Fall River, MA) with nine points and two rebounds, while freshman forward Victoria Demers (Sutton, MA) had eight points and three boards. Junior guard Jessa Rubera (Newton, MA) contributed eight points for RIC in the setback.

Freshman forward Mya Villard (Cromwell, CT) paced Western Connecticut (13-5, 8-1 LEC) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Jordyn Nappi (Southington, CT) was also in double figures with 10 points, five assists and three boards in the victory for the Warriors.

The two teams battled back and forth early with RIC trailing by just three points, 16-13, after a layup by Gauvin with 2:07 left in the first quarter. Eastern Connecticut then closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run to take its first double-digit advantage of the contest, 23-13, after the first quarter of play. The host Warriors continued to build on their lead throughout the second quarter and took a 36-22 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.

Eastern Connecticut increased the lead to 20 points , 42-22, on a three-pointer by junior guard Kelly Reardon (Holyoke, MA )with 8:17 remaining in the third. The Warriors pushed the lead to 57-28 after three quarters of play.  The Warriors led by as many as 33 points late in the contest before cruising to the 70-42 victory.

RIC shot 25.0 percent (19-of-52) from the field, including 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from behind the three-point stripe and 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the free throw line. Eastern Connecticut shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the field, 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from the three-point line and 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the free throw line. Eastern Connecticut held a 50-31 advantage in rebounds for the contest and forced RIC into 16 turnovers,

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will travel to Tufts on Tuesday, Jan. 31 (7 p.m.).