PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A loser of its previous five games against Rhode Island College at the Murray Center, the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team scored the first ten points of the game Saturday afternoon and led the rest of the way in a 61-48 Little East Conference win at the Murray Center.

Eastern (5-3,1-1 Little East) sophomore forward Kelsey Santagata (Stamford) had four points, senior center Lexis Foster (Groton) three and senior guard Julia DePoi (Brookfield) capped the initial ten-point run with a three-point field goal.

Rhode Island (4-7, 1-1 Little East) cut the gap to five at halftime, but DePoi's jumper in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter allowed the Warriors to re-gain the ten-point edge, 39-29. Three times in the fourth quarter, RIC was within five, but a jumper by junior point guard Kelly Reardon (Holyoke, MA), corner three-pointer by senior guard Jordyn Nappi (Southington) and three-pointer by DePoi – both off feeds from Reardon – kept the Anchorwomen from getting any closer. 

Leading by eight after ten minutes, Eastern pushed the advantage to 13, 23-10, midway through the second quarter with a run of seven straight points that appeared to put the Warriors in firm control. Freshman forward Mya Villard (Cromwell) converted a backdoor layup to make it 18-10 and after drawing an offensive foul, Santagata connected on a jumper on the offensive end to up the lead to double digits. Nappi then made RIC pay for a turnover by drilling the first of her two three-point field goals as the lead ballooned to 13 with 4:47 left in the half.

Trailing by those 13 points, a media timeout allowed the hosts to regroup with 2:27 left. In those final minutes, Eastern went scoreless from the floor and was outscored 11-3 overall. Backcourt teammates Alex Moore, a senior, and freshman Jordyn Gauvin combined for all 11 of their team's points in that stretch

Santagata posted her fourth double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and also handed out five assists in 38 minutes. DePoi tossed in 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 39 minutes, Nappi adding 12 points, and Foster eight points and seven rebounds, Reardon four points, four rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes. Villard came off the bench for nine points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.

Eastern has dominated this all-time series, at one point capturing 21 of 23, but had managed only five victories in the previous 14 contests with the Anchorwomen. Until Saturday, the Warriors had not won on RIC's home floor since 2010-11, having lost five straight (four of them by an aggregate of 16 points).

Moore of RIC led all players with 26 points, her final  points coming with 40 seconds left giving her 1,000 in her career. The field goal was only the second in the final five minutes of the game, however, for the Anchorwomen.

Eastern hosts nationally-ranked Tufts University Jan. 2 at 6 p.m.