WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team was able to keep pace in the race for the Little East Conference regular-season championship and No. 1 tournament seed, but not without more than a few anxious moments.
 
Eastern (15-8, 12-2 LEC) withstood a game-tying corner three-point field goal by Jackie Luckhardt that forced overtime with a three-point field goal of its own by Julie Keckler (Trumbull) with the shot clock expiring in the first overtime, then scored the first six points of the second overtime on three-point field goals to post a 73-63 double-overtime win over the University of Southern Maine Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
 
With two games remaining in the regular-season, Eastern still trails Rhode Island College by a game, the Anchorwomen (13-1) besting homestanding University of Massachusetts Boston, 66-54, Saturday. The Warriors are guaranteed of hosting a first-round tournament game Feb. 22 as one of the top four seeds.

The win was Eastern's ninth straight and fourth in a row at home since losing, 71-45, Jan. 5 at home in a game played without scoring and rebounding leader Anna Barry (Andover), the LEC leader in field goal percentage and blocked shots.
 
The Warriors led for nearly 30 minutes in the game and by four with 30 seconds left in regulation following a pair of free throws by Keckler – the LEC's leader in that department – before Luckhardt completed a three-point play with a free throw that cut the Eastern lead to one. Two more free throws by Keckler provided the Warriors with a three-point, 51-48 lead with 10.8 seconds left, but after a timeout that advanced the ball to halfcourt, Luckhardt inbounded and looped around to the corner, where she took Michelle Rowe's pass and swished a hurried three-pointer that forced the first overtime, 51-51.
 
Southern Maine (6-14, 5-6 LEC), which dips to 3-10 this year away from Hill Gymnasium, assumed its largest lead since midway through the second quarter when Victoria Harris's two free throws made it 56-53 with exactly a minute left in the first overtime, but Keckler's three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire with 31.2 seconds left tied the game for the ninth and final time, 56-56.
 
Working for the final shot in overtime, USM gave the ball back to Eastern on a shot-clock violation with 1.2 seconds left but Barry air-balled a short uncontested, yet hurried, baseline jumper on a perfectly-placed over-the-defense pass from Danielle O'Brien (Rockland, MA) that sent the game into a second overtime.
 
In contrast to the majority of the game, there was no drama in the second overtime after O'Brien and Keckler opened with three-point field goals to quickly gave the Warriors a 62-56 lead. Keckler then found Barry  alone underneath after a USM free throw that made it 64-57 two minutes into the five-minute second OT session. After Barry's inside bucket, the Warriors iced the win with a parade of free throws, with the team's final nine points of the game coming on 14 free throw attempts.
Barry had 18 points and  a career-high 18 rebounds and blocked three shots, with her second block breaking the previous career block record of 174, set by Lexis Foster (2013-17). Since missing three games in December, Barry has averaged 16.7 points 12.1 rebounds with 21 blocked shots and a 52.6 field goal percentage over the last ten games, nine of them wins. Seven of those ten games have resulted in double-doubles.
 
Keckler missed her first ten shots from the floor but recovered to connect on four of her final six and was also 4-of-6 from the foul line and finished with 15 points to go along with seven assists. O'Brien followed Barry with 17 points -- one shy of her career-high -- and Jenna Serrantino (Cromwell) totaled 11 points and eight rebounds. Aiyana Ward (Waterbury) had nine points and 12 rebounds that helped Eastern to a +15 advantage on the boards.
 
Luckhardt led USM with 19 points and Franny Ramsdell came off the bench for ten points and eight rebounds.
 
Eastern closes out the home-and-home series with USM Monday with a 5 p.m. game at Gorham, ME.