Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Sophomore forward Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA) scored 17 points to spark the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team to a 17-point halftime lead and the Warriors were never headed in a 76-42 Little East Conference victory over Plymouth State University Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
At right: Brianna Leonard drives against Madison Beatrice of Plymouth in the second half of Saturday's Little East victory. (Photo by Liam Murphy)
Ritrosky, who shares the Eastern (13-6, 6-3 Little East) scoring lead and is its top rebounder, scored nearly half of the team's 39 first-half points to help the Warriors to their first win in three games and send Plymouth (2-15, 1-8 Little East) to its fifth straight loss this season and 22nd setback in the last 23 contests against Eastern.
With the top four teams in the conference winning, Eastern maintains a share of second place in the conference with the University of Southern Maine, both clubs two games back of Rhode Island College. Plymouth remains in eighth place.
Eastern scored 14 consecutive points over a three-and-a-half minute stretch to snap the only tie of the game and sprint to a 14-point, 22-8 lead with ten minutes left in the first half. While Plymouth was missing four shots and turning the ball over four times in that span, four different Eastern players contributed points. Freshman guard Jordyn Nappi (Southington) accounted for six straight Eastern points in that run by canning both of her first-half three-point field goals, while sophomore guard Victoria Pfohl (Trumbull) contributed three assists, sophomore post Erin Brooks (Billerica, MA) four points and two rebounds, Ritrosky a basket and two rebounds and sophomore guard Brianna Leonard (Amherst, MA) two points, two steals and an assist.
Led by Ritrosky and Brooks (12-of-14 from the floor) Eastern converted 57.1 percent of its first-half shots and sank 14 of 17 free throws in the game.
Ritrosky led the Warriors in both scoring (21) and rebounding (8) for the fifth time this season, sinking 9 of 11 field goals and all three of her free throws. Nappi tossed in 13 points and Brooks added 11 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes. Making their first starts of the year, Pfohl handed out four assists and grabbed three rebounds in 18 minutes, and freshman guard Julia DePoi (Brookfield) had five points, two blocks and a season-high seven rebounds. Leonard came off the bench for eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 26 minutes.
Senior guard Krystin Corliss was Plymouth's only double-figure scorer, totaling 11 points in 22 minutes. The Panthers turned the ball over only 12 times in the game but shot 27.6 percent from the floor.
Eastern visits Connecticut College Tuesday at 6 p.m.
