Box Score
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. –  Four players combined for 28 third-quarter points as the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team erased a nine-point halftime deficit in securing a 79-71 victory Tuesday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium over defending Little East Conference tournament champion University of Massachusetts Dartmouth that presented first-year head coach Mandy King with the 300^th victory of her 23-year head coaching career.

With identical records before tip-off, Warriors (5-7, 2-1 LEC) used that big third quarter – when they were 13-of-19 from the floor and turned the ball over only once -- to pull away from the Corsairs (4-8, 1-2 LEC).

While the Corsairs featured a one-person wrecking crew in graduate guard Yasmine Santos (38 points and 17 rebounds), Eastern featured a balanced offense that received season-highs in points from junior forward Marissa Nudd (Colchester) and first-year wing Maddie Topa (New Hartford) as well as 15 points and six assists (and only one turnover in 32 minutes) from sophomore point guard Liv Cassesse (Wallingford).

Nudd (28 points/8 rebounds), Topa (20 points/seven rebounds/five assists) and Cassesse combined to go 26-of-46 from the floor in the game

The home win was the first in four games for Eastern, which amassed a season-high point total and turned the ball over only 12 times – its second-lowest number in a game this year.

Santos had 28 of her points in helping the Corsairs to their 43-34 lead, but was only 2-of-7 from the floor in the second half.

Eastern's starters were able to get the team off to a good start offensively, with Topa able to connect with her teammates on three of the first four successful Warrior field goals. The Corsairs kept pace with Santos alone, who had their first 9 points of the game. Outside of her efforts on the offensive end, the rest of the UMass Dartmouth offense struggled to find the back of the net. The Corsairs shot just 2-14 in the first quarter (excluding Santos) and 0-7 from behind the arc. Meanwhile,  Nudd and  Cassesse would impress in what ended up being an 18-point first quarter from the Topa, Nudd, Cassesse trio.

In a quarter where she finished with 19 points, the player who now has the most made free throws in the LEC was able to add another seven from the line. The Corsairs were able to go on a run late into the second quarter and not only erase the Warrior lead, but build themselves a 9-point cushion heading into the second half. For the Warriors, Nudd continued to add to her highly efficient evening, finishing the game with 28 points on 12-18 shooting, including 8 rebounds. Three more Warriors scored their first points of the game in the second quarter, as junior forward Alyssa Paquette (Claremont, NH), sophomore forward Trinity Angel (Killingly), and sophomore guard Nevaeh King (Brockton, MA) converted and each added a rebound.

Everything went right for the Warriors coming out of halftime. A 15-0 run kicked things off and the group collectively found an answer for Santos, limiting her to just one field goal in the third. Offensively, first-year forward Katelyn Novak (Colchester) scored all 7 of her points this quarter (she also had seven rebounds in the game), contributing 2 assists as well. Topa also enjoyed her best quarter of the game, shooting 4-6 and grabbing 3 rebounds in a 28-13 third by the Warriors. UMass Dartmouth shot just 4-12, typically having to settle for outside looks. A late three by Melanie DeMeo helped the Corsairs cut the Warrior lead to 6, with the game still in the balance heading into the fourth.

Like the third, the Warriors started the fourth quarter on a run, this time scoring 7 before DeMeo ended it with a layup. The Corsairs continued to shoot the ball poorly in the game's final quarter, going 5-20 for just 25% from the field. Kaila Pruitt got UMass Dartmouth within 5 with her only successful three of the quarter, but Cassesse was able to connect with hers and keep Eastern in a decent position with just five minutes to play.

Prior to her appointment at Eastern, King won 172 games in 13 years at Kean University after recording 123 wins in nine seasons at Washington & Lee University. King played her collegiate basketball in the Little East Conference on the nationally-competitive University of Southern Maine teams.
 
The Warriors head on the road for a pair of Little East Conference matchups against Keene State and Plymouth State -- the conference's two New Hampshire-based opponents. The Keene State game will take place at Spaulding Gymnasium in Keene, NH on Thursday at 4 p.m. The Owls are 9-4 on the season and 3-1 in the conference under 34th-year head coach Keith Boucher.

 Eastern's meeting with Plymouth State is a noon tip-off on Saturday at Foley Gymnasium. After finishing 5-20 (1-15 LEC) a year ago, the Panthers are 8-3 on the season and 1-2 in conference play under third-year head coach Curtis Arsenault.