Box Score
WILLIMANTIC, Conn.—An Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team which was ranked last in the Little East Conference in three-point field goals and three-point percentage did an about-face Tuesday night, doubling its season average of two three-point field goals per game just four minutes into play and went on to a 62-54 victory over Keene State College at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
 
After missing all nine of its three-point field goal tries in absorbing a 31-point loss at the hands of Keene (6-8, 2-3 LEC) when the teams met a year ago at Geissler Gym, Eastern (5-9, 4-1 LEC) nailed four of its first five attempts from behind the arc Tuesday – three different players contributing to those 12 points – and was never headed in surging to its 13th win in the last 14 tries against the Owls.
 
In all, the Warriors cashed in ten three-point field goals on 19 tries – six more makes than its best previous effort of the year – and posted a .526 success percentage behind the arc which dwarfed its previous best percentage of .333 this year.
 
Eastern was outscored by six points in the second half but its 14-point half lead (35-21) was more than enough to withstand Keene's late second-half comeback bid. The Warriors never trailed after its four three-pointers staked them to a nine-point lead four minutes into action, boosting the advantage to 17 on – what else – a three-point field goal by first-year guard Liv Cassesse (Wallingford) three minutes into the second half.
 
In the second half, the Owls outrebounded Eastern by four, turned the ball over only three times and allowed only five three-point field goal attempts in trimming Eastern's double-digit lead to seven, 58-51, on junior guard Valerie Luizzi's three-point field goal with 80 seconds left. The visitors had a chance to cut deeper into the lead off an Eastern turnover, but returned the favor (and the ball) and Eastern sophomore guard Julia Knowles (Waterford) sank four of six free throws the rest of the way to keep the Warriors in front.
 
Averaging 17 turnovers a game, Eastern turned the ball over only 12 times, with only four coming in the first half when it was 7-of-14 from distance.
 
Cassesse (5-of-7 from distance) paced four Eastern double-digit scorers with a career-high 19 points, junior guard Kya Mayo (Middletown) equalling her season-high with 13 (3-of-5 from behind the arc) and Knowles (season-high) and senior forward Taylor Salato (East Haven) adding 11 points each, with Salato posting her fifth double-double of the year with  a game-high 16 rebounds, Cassesse adding nine. Knowles handed out five assists and sophomore forward Marissa Nudd (Colchester) four. Salato, Nudd and Cassesse all withstood second-half foul trouble, each finishing with four.
 
Luizzi led the Owls with 15 points and 11 rebounds, freshman guard Ruby Dasaro adding ten points and junior forward Avery Stewart contributing eight points and seven rebounds.
 
Keene dropped to 1-6 on its opponent's court this year while Eastern evened its home record at 3-3.
 
Eastern visits VTSU Castleton in a conference game Thursday at 3 p.m.