Box Score
HARTFORD, Conn. – Sophomore forward Natalie Lucas sparked a 14-4 Springfield College scoring run over the final 4:34 of the third quarter by scoring seven points that vaulted the Pride to a 69-46 non-conference victory over the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team on the second day of the Trinity College Tip-Off Tournament Saturday afternoon at Ray Oosting Gymnasium.
 
Lucas, who had just scored nine points in Springfield's (2-1) first two games, was one of four different players to contribute points in that 14-4 run after Eastern (0-3) had pulled to within seven, 40-33 with 5:36 left in the third quarter on a conventional three-point play from senior forward Taylor Salato (East Haven).
 
As it had done in its previous two games this year, Eastern jumped early by scoring the first seven points of the game but shot just 25 percent and committed four turnovers – while the Pride did not turn it over – and was outscored 17-7 in the second quarter and trailed by eight, 32-24, at halftime.
 
Down by ten early in the third quarter, Eastern made it a seven-point game on Salato's three-point play, but faltered the rest of the quarter and fell back by 20, 57-37, when junior guard Amanda Leary drilled a  three-point field goal that opened the fourth quarter.
 
After Salato's three-point play, the Warriors regained possession with a chance to cut the gap to four, but missed a three-pointer, and Springfield turned two offensive rebounds into a bucket by Lucas that made it 42-33. Following another Eastern turnover, Lucas and junior guard Stefany Padula drained three-pointers around another Eastern turnover and missed shot as the Springfield lead ballooned to 15, 48-33, with just under three minutes left in the quarter.
 
First-year All-State point guard Liv Cassesse (Wallingford) responded from 2-of-19 shooting from the floor in the team's first two games by sinking four of seven shots in the first half Saturday – scoring all nine of her points in the 30 minutes. She also totalled seven assists and five rebounds in the game, committing only three turnovers in 28 minutes.
 
First-year sophomore transfer Marissa Nudd (Colchester) was Eastern's only double-digit scorer, finishing with 12 points. She was 5-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the stripe and is now 19-of-30 (63.3 percent) from the floor  and 13-of-18 (72.2) from the foul line in three games.  Joining Cassesse with nine points were senior guard Kya Mayo (Middletown) and Salato, the latter also grabbing a team-high six rebounds.
 
Springfield outscored Eastern by 20  in the paint. On the perimeter, Warriors missed 16 of 18 three-pointers and is shooting just 18.2 percent (6-of-33)  from distance this year. In a back-and-forth first quarter that had the Warriors up by two, Eastern was 8-of-15 from the floor (only taking one three-pointer) but managed only one nine field goals over the final 30 minutes in shooting 25.7 percent from the field.
 
Senior forward Angie Czeremcha, the team's top returning scorer and rebounder from a year ago, led Springfield with 16 points and eight rebounds, with Lucas (6-of-9) and sophomore guard Claire Finney right behind with 15 points. Springfield's bench outscored Eastern's bench, 26-7.

Three Eastern players made their collegiate debuts off the bench in the game: guard Audrey Tice (Bristol), and six-foot forwards Anaka Eaton (Coventry) and Morgan Yonush (Plainfield). Tice had a rebound in four minutes, while Eaton played two minutes and Yonush had three rebounds and was 2-of-2 from the stripe in four minutes. Also seeing their first action of the season were sophomore guard Morginn Kotchian (Beverly, MA) and 6-foot-1 inch sophomore forward Grace Smith (Willington). Kotchian had an assist in four minutes and in two minutes, Smith had the third blocked shot of her 90-minute career.
 
The Warriors play their third straight game against a 2023/24 NCAA qualifier in their home-opener Tuesday against Western New England University at 5:30 p.m. (Eastern's first  four opponents this year combined on a 79-29 record last year). Eastern had dropped a 76-59 decision to host Trinity in Friday's Trinity College Tip-Off Tournament opener.
 
Western New England has won its first two games this year – both on the road -- defeating Springfield (70-63) and No. 20 nationally-ranked Rhode Island College (62-55) – the four-time defending Little East Conference tournament champion.
 
After going 13-14 the previous year, the Golden Bears won last year's Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) to qualify for the NCAA tournament, finishing 22-6. Returning from that team is six-foot senior forward Shaina Cooney (11.9 ppg./7.3 rpg.). Seniors lead this year's team in Lilly Hedge (14.5/7.0), Emma Kahn (13.5/3.0) and Emma Novajasky (13.0/5.5).
 
Eastern has won 11 of the 15 games in the all-time series but the Golden Bears have captured four of the last six. When the teams met last at Geissler Gymnasium in 2022/23, Eastern came away with a 71-63 victory. As sophomores on that team and Eastern's only returning players from that game, Salato and Mayo came off the bench to score nine points in 31 minutes.