Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H. -- Senior forward Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA) scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half on 9-of-11 shooting and the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team limited Plymouth State University to four points in the third quarter en route to a 71-45 Little East Conference victory Saturday afternoon at Foley Gymnasium.
The win is the eighth straight and 32nd in the last 34 meeting for Eastern (8-4, 2-1 LEC) over Plymouth State (6-7, 1-2 LEC), which lost for the first time in its last five games.
Trailing by two, 28-26, at halftime, Eastern outscored Plymouth 19-4 in the third quarter and 43-19 overall in the second half (shooting 61.3 percent in the half) to capture its fourth game overall in the last five. The Panthers sank their opening bucket of the third quarter to go up by four, but missed their next 12 in a row and turned the ball over three times on those next 15 possessions as Eastern pulled away.
In the third quarter, Eastern was 7-of-9 from the floor after missing two of its first three shots. When Eastern outscored Plymouth 19-4 in the third quarter, senior forward Erin Brooks (Billerica, MA) and Ritrosky combined for 17 points, with Ritrosky grabbing six of her game-high 12 rebounds and Brooks handing out both of her game assists.
Brooks led all players with a career-high 22 points (9-of-12) and pulled down six rebounds, pushing her season field goal percentage over 60 percent to 61.6. Ritrosky totaled her eighth double-double of the season (fourth straight). Senior guard Victoria Pfohl (Trumbull) added five rebounds and five assists with just one turnover in 29 minutes, and senior guard Danyelle Rodriguez (Willimantic) came off the bench for seven points and five rebounds.
Junior guard Ace Lawrence had 19 points to lead Plymouth, which shot just 30.9 percent from the floor and was outrebounded 49-27.
Eastern visits UMass Dartmouth in a conference game Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
