Salato, Nudd Lift Eastern Conn. in LEC

BOSTON – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team erased a four-point halftime deficit by outrebounding the University of Massachusetts Boston by 13 in the third quarter in limiting the hosts to six points in the session en route to a 64-53 victory in Little East Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center.

In defeating UMass Boston (2-7, 1-2 LEC) for the 11th straight time, Eastern (3-7, 2-0 LEC) survived a program-record 30 turnovers that accounted for roughly half of the Beacons' final point total.

With its second LEC win in three days, Eastern matches four-time defending LEC tournament champion Rhode Island College as the only teams with 2-0 records in the conference.

Post players Taylor Salato (East Haven), a senior, and sophomore Marissa Nudd (Colchester) combined for 44 points and 24 reobunds and shot a combined 16-of-30 from the floor and 10-of-14 from the foul line. Salato pulled down a game and season-high 17 rebounds and also had three assists and three steals. Senior guard Kya Mayo (Middletown) and first-year point guard Liv Cassesse (Wallingford) each had eight points and combined for 13 rebounds to help the Warriors to a +15 advantage on the boards.

Eastern visits the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Jan. 4 in a conference game at 1 p.m.