Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team overcame a ten-point deficit midway through the second quarter, using a +18 advantage on the offensive boards to outscore eighth-seeded Rhode Island College by 20 on second-chance opportunities and post a 74-62 victory in the opening round of the 2017 Little East Conference Tournament Tuesday evening at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
Two-time defending champion Eastern (19-7) hosts No. 4 seed Western Connecticut (15-11) in Saturday's first semifinal at 5 p.m., with No. 2 Keene State College (19-7) facing No. 3 Massachusetts Dartmouth at 7:30 p.m. The tournament final is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. All games will be hosted by Eastern.
Eastern outscored Rhode Island, 14-5, over the final four minutes of the second quarter to cut a ten-point deficit to one, 34-33, by the break. With Eastern trailing by eight with two minutes left before the half, freshman forward Mya Villard (Cromwell) scored inside on a pass from junior forward Kelsey Santagata (Stamford), freshman guard Sabrina LeMere (North Branford) sank two free throws off a defensive rebound from senior guard Jordyn Nappi (Southington), and freshman guard Lizzy Cretella (Cheshire) beat the halftime buzzer with a long three-point field goal off a rebound from junior forward Emily Menendez (Shelton) to make it a one-point game at the half.
Leading by two, Eastern outscored the Anchorwomen by ten in the fourth quarter to pull away, turning four RIC turnovers into ten points and outscoring the visitors 8-0 on second-chance points over the final ten minutes. In the fourth, senior center Lexis Foster (Groton) had nine points, four rebounds and a blocked shot, Nappi seven points and DePoi three rebounds.
Senior guard Alex Moore and junior guard Jessa Rubera kept RIC relevant throughout the game. Moore, who score her 1,000th career point in Eastern's 61-48 win at RIC in mid-December (she missed the return engagement at Eastern with injury), had 25 points and 12 rebounds and Rubera 21 points. The pair combined for nearly 75 percent of their team's offense.
Villard led a balanced Eastern offense with 14 points and seven rebounds, DePoi adding her fourth double-double in the last ten games with ten points and 12 rebounds, and Foster chipping in nine points and nine rebounds. Off the bench, Cretella tossed in a career-high 13 points in 12 minutes and Santagata nine points and ten rebounds. Junior point guard Kelly Reardon (Holyoke, MA) did not commit a turnover in 34 minutes and had eight points, four assists and three steals.
