Box Score
HARTFORD, Conn. – Sophomore guard Olivia Vick opened the second half with a three-pointer to give the Trinity College women's basketball team the lead for good as the Bantams pulled away for a 76-59 non-conference victory over Eastern Connecticut State University in the opening round of the Trinity College Tip-Off Tournament  Friday night at Ray Oosting Gymnasium.
 
Eastern (0-2) had scored nine straight points after Trinity (1-0) opened the game with the first bucket and led by nine, 24-15 six minutes into the second quarter before the Bantams outscored Eastern 16-7 the rest of the way to pull to within one, 32-31, at the break.
 
Trinity outscored Eastern 22-10 in the third quarter to open up an 11-point, 53-42 lead 45 minutes into play and was never headed the rest of the way. Sparked by Vick's 14 points and 11 from senior guard Hannah Marzo (the pair combining to shoot 10-of-14 from the floor) to that point, Trinity led by nine, 47-38, with 3:32 left in the third quarter.
 
After outscoring Trinity by one in the first half, the Warriors allowed 45 points in the second half and were outscored by 18 over the final 30 minutes. In two losses this year, Eastern has allowed an average of 79.5 points.
 
Eastern outscored Trinity by 14 points from the foul line, sinking 19 of 25 attempts, but was outscored by 31 from the floor. Trinity shot 47.1 percent, Eastern 43.2 percent, with the Bantams holding a +13 advantage on the boards, including +11 on the offensive glass. Trinity's bench outscored Eastern's, 40-8. The Warriors' starters average 30 minutes, Trinity's 21.
 
Senior forward Taylor Salato (East Haven) led Eastern with 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the second straight, moving her to within 18 of 500 career rebounds. First-year guard Liv Cassesse (Wallingford) followed Salato with 12 points, ten of them from the foul line. In two games, Cassesse has scored 16 of her 20 points on the season from the stripe.
 
Vick of Trinity finished with 18 points (7-of-12 FG) and Marzo 11. Six-foot-1 inch sophomore forward Madi Forman grabbed a game-high ten rebounds to go along with eight points and two blocks.
 
The Warriors are 13-6 all-time against Trinity, but have lost five of the last six against the Bantams.
 
Trinity was coming off last year's 19-8 season but had graduated its top three scorers and rebounders, including 6-foot-2 inch Reilly Campbell (15.2 ppg./8.4 rpg.) and 5-foot-10 inch Emma Wax (10.0/4.5).  The Warriors had struggled to an 11-16 record last year but have returned their top three scorers and five of its top six rebounders.
 
On the second day of the tournament Saturday, Eastern faces Springfield College (1-1) at 2 p.m. The Pride also qualified as an at-large selection to last year's NCAA tournament, winning 22 and losing six. Eastern and Springfield have each won four times in the eight-game series, the Pride routing the Warriors, 82-54, in the last meeting at Springfield three years ago at Blake Arena.    

Eastern had defeated both Trinity and Springfield in winning the Trinity Tip-Off Tournament in 2019/20, downing Trinity by ten in its first game and edging Springfield by two in the final despite playing without two starters. Eastern went on to a 24-5 record and Little East Conference championship that year.