Colonials Trench Past Women's Basketball, 78-46

DANBURY, Conn. – The Western Connecticut State University women's basketball team used a 12-0 run to start the game to propel the Colonials to a 78-46 win over the visitors from Anna Maria College Thursday evening at Feldman Arena.

ANNA MARIA LEADERS

For Anna Maria, senior Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.) scored 10 points, while freshman Shannon Hofmiller (Oxford, Conn.) grabbed nine rebounds for the AMCATS.

WESTERN CONNECTICUT LEADERS

Leading the offense for Western were junior Alyssa Eannotti (Shelton, Conn.) with 17 points and freshman Kayla Croswell (Norwalk, Conn.) with 10 points.  Junior Alecia Dulaire (Bloomfield, Conn.) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Colonials.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Western took control of the game early in the first quarter, scoring the game's first 12 points and holding Anna Maria scoreless for the game's first five minutes.

Western's largest lead of the first quarter was 14 points, 21-7, following a jumper by sophomore Nicole Mierzejewski (Meriden, Conn.) with 1:51 remaining.  Western's lead was 21-8 after one quarter.

Western's defense continued to give Anna Maria problems in the second quarter, and midway through the period the Colonial lead was 20 points, 33-13.

One minute later, Western had extended its lead to 28 points, 41-13, after a jumper by sophomore Molly Ronan (Orange, Conn.).  Anna Maria closed the half with a 9-2 run, making the Colonial lead 43-22 going into the locker room at intermission.

Anna Maria kept pace with Western for the first seven minutes of the second half, trailing 55-32 after a 3-pointer by junior Nicole Mareiro (Acushnet, Mass.), but the Colonials closed the quarter with an 8-2 run for a 63-34 lead after three quarters.

Western scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to push its advantage to 37 points, 71-34, and cruised through the final 10 minutes to claim a 78-46 victory 

FINAL COMPARISONS

For the game, Western held a 64-43 advantage in rebounds, and also had the edge in assists, 20-13.  Western finished shooting 37.5% from the floor and 59.1% from the line, while Anna Maria hit 26.5% and 50.0%, respectively.

WHAT'S NEXT

With the win, Western improves to 14-6 on the season, while Anna Maria falls to 6-15.  The Colonials return to action Saturday, February 6, when they travel to play LEC rival UMass Dartmouth.  Game time is slated for 1:00pm.  Anna Maria hosts Simmons, also on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.