Box Score DANBURY, Conn. – Eastern Connecticut State University senior forward Mya Villard (Cromwell) has scored more than 30 points in a game five times in her career – and all five have come against Western Connecticut State University.
Wednesday, in the Little East Conference opener for both schools, Villard hit for 31 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the floor and 7-of-10 marksmanship from the line as Eastern (4-1) downed Western (2-5) for the 13th time in the last 14 meetings, 72-60, at Feldman Arena.
Eastern held the Colonials to 29.3 percent shooting from the floor -- which included 15.4 percent on 26 three-point attempts – to overcome its worst free-throw performance of the year. The LEC leader at 81.6 percent, Eastern was 55.6 percent from the stripe (15-of-27), although the Colonials could not make up ground by hitting only 12-of-20 (60 percent).
Eastern outscored Western by nine in the fourth quarter after taking a three-point lead into the final ten minutes. Leading by four, the Warriors moved out to a ten-point, 60-50 lead midway through the final quarter during an eventual 11-1 run.
Six-foot sophomore Anna Barry's (Andover) inside basket pushed the lead to six before Villard grabbed a rebound and took a pass from Barry to score inside and make it 58-50.
Soon after a Western line change, the Colonials turned the ball over and Barry cashed in two more points to push the lead to double figures (60-50) with six minutes left.
In the 11-1 Eastern run, Western went scoreless from the floor for over nearly five minutes.
Villard also led both teams with 12 rebounds and also blocked three shots. Barry totaled 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-tying six blocked shots which give her 20 blocks in five games this year and 60 in 33 career contests.
Sophomore guard Jenna Serrantino (Cromwell) came off the bench for 12 points, while senior guard Lizzy Cretella (Cheshire) handed out a career-high nine assists and sophomore guard Julie Keckler (Trumbull) seven.
Senior guard Gabrielle Hurlbert led Western with 24 points in 21 minutes but the squad's other four starters were limited to six total points. Seven of Hurlbert's points came on nine free throw attempts.
Ranked seventh all-time at Eastern with 1,337 career points, Villard had scoring totals of 35, 34, 33 and 32 points in eight previous career games against Western. In her previous showing on Western's court last December 5, Villard netted 34 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 free throw shooting to go along with 19 rebounds – one shy of her career-high rebounding mark of 20, which had come against the Colonials on the final day of the regular season in 2018.
Eastern hosts No. 1 nationally-ranked Amherst College Saturday at 1 p.m. The Warriors stunned the Mammoths, 70-67, a year ago at Amherst, MA.
