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            WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- Senior guard Amanda Pierlioni (Plainville, Conn.) and junior forward Piper Chapman (Portsmouth, R.I./The Prout School) each scored 14 points to lead the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors to a 60-53, overtime win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Geisler Gymnasium.

            With the win, Eastern Connecticut improves to 18-7 overall and 11-3 in the Little East.  Splitting the regular season series with Eastern Connecticut, Southern Maine falls to 16-9 with the loss and 11-3 in the conference.  Southern Maine earns the tiebreaker over Eastern Connecticut by virtue of its 1-1 record against LEC leader Western Connecticut.  The Huskies will be the number two seed in the upcoming Little East Conference tournament and will receive a first-round bye.  The Warriors will be the number three seed and will face sixth-seeded Keene State College on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.).

            Pierlioni and Chapman shared team-high scoring honors as the Warriors used a balanced attack with four players in double figures to fend off the Huskies.  Senior guard Brittany Whiteley (Windsor Locks, Conn.) added 12 points, while senior guard Jessica Moriarty (East Haven, Conn.) added 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

            Southern Maine junior forward Courtney Cochran (Waite, Maine/Woodland) notched her 15th double-double of the season scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds – both game-high totals – to lead the Huskies.  Junior guard Nicole Garland (Portland, Maine/Deering) and senior forward Becky Dixon (Gardiner, Maine) each scored eight points off of the bench.

            Five minutes into the second half, the Huskies trailed by 14 points before rallying to send the game into overtime.  The Warriors led the Huskies by three, 48-45, after a pair of free throws from Chapman with 23 seconds left in regulation, but Dixon knocked down her first three-pointer of the season with four seconds left on the clock to force the game into the extra session.

            The Warriors dominated the overtime period scoring the first seven points to lead 55-48 with 1:20 to play.  Pierlioni scored four of the Warriors seven points in the opening run. A three from USM senior guard Kaylie DeMillo (Jay, Maine) and a layup from Cochran that sandwiched two free throws from Whiteley pulled the Huskies to within four, 57-53, with 34 seconds to play.  The Warriors sealed the deal from the free throw line for the 60-53 final.

            Southern Maine returns to action in a semifinal game of the Little East Conference tournament facing either Eastern Connecticut or Keene State on Friday in Danbury, Conn.