WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – For the second time in as many years, the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team ended Rhode Island College's hopes for a perfect Little East Conference season, scoring the first eight points of the second quarter to build an 18-point lead and going on to snap the Anchormen's overall 18-game winning streak, 66-56, Wednesday evening at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
Senior All-America forward Anna Barry (Andover) scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-18 field goal shooting and 4-of-4 marksmanship from the foul line and also grabbed eight rebounds, handed out five assists and blocked three shots as Eastern (19-4, 13-1 LEC) moved a half-game ahead of Rhode Island (19-3, 12-1 LEC) in the race for the regular-season title and No. 1 tournament seed.
By avenging its only LEC loss this year, Eastern has guaranteed itself a first-round LEC tournament bye into the tournament semifinals as one of the top two seeds. The win is the tenth in a row for Eastern and the eighth straight at home after a season-opening home loss to nationally-ranked Babson College.
After losing, 60-57, in overtime at home to Eastern last Feb. 9 (after defeating the Warriors by 26 points in early January at Geissler Gym), Rhode Island had reeled off 15 straight LEC regular-season wins. The Anchorwomen had smothered the Warriors, 51-37, when the teams met this past Jan. 4 at The Murray Center, limited Eastern to a season-low point total.
Having outrebounded its opponent by an LEC-leading 13 per game this year, the two-time defending LEC regular-season and playoff champions grabbed 15 offensive rebounds against Eastern but managed only a +2 point advantage in second-chance points. Senior forward Mariah Dunn (Meriden) of Eastern led all players with a career-high 11 rebounds and finished with 15 points (7-of-10 FG).
Dunn and Barry combined for 22 points on 11-of-15 field goal shooting and 11 rebounds to spark the Warriors to a 12-point, 37-25 halftime lead. The Anchorwomen cut the deficit to single digits several times in the second half and to eight, 37-29, a minute into the fourth quarter, but Barry scored twice inside to push the lead back to 12. Barry scored the first basket off a feed from senior guard Julie Keckler (Trumbull) and after Dunn stole the ball, Barry grabbed her own miss and put it back to make it 41-29 with eight minutes left.
Eastern shot a season-high 54 percent from the floor and the LEC's leading free throw-shooting team was 8-of-10 from the stripe.
Junior guard Madison Medbury led Rhode Island with 17 points and nine rebounds, with senior forward Izabelle Booth adding 12 points.
In the last three seasons, Rhode Island is 34-3 in the conference regular season, with two of the losses coming to Eastern.
Eastern hosts the University of Southern Maine Saturday at 1 p.m. and visits Western Connecticut State University next Wednesday to close out the regular season. Rhode Island hosts UMass Boston Saturday and UMass Dartmouth next Wednesday and closes out Feb. 18 at Plymouth State University.