DANBURY, Conn. – Freshman Kayla Croswell (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame-Fairfield) scored nine of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Western Connecticut State University Colonials pulled away from the University of Southern Maine Huskies 77-59 in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Feldman Arena.

Owning a four-point, 52-48, advantage after three quarters, the Colonials outscored the Huskies 25-11 in the final 10 minutes of action to earn their second LEC victory of the season and improve to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference.  Southern Maine, playing in its third consecutive road game, falls to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in the Little East.  Southern Maine entered the game riding a two-game win streak.

Croswell led three players in double figures on 7-for-12 shooting, snagging a double-double in the process with a game-high 11 rebounds and seven assists.  Junior Samantha Smith (Wallingford, Conn./Sheehan) added 14 points off of the bench, while junior Emily Dobson (Westerly, R.I.) and freshman Jancy Sherwood (Poughquag, N.Y./Arlington) scored 11 and 10 points respectively.

Southern Maine senior Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) had a season-high 20 points, adding five rebounds, three steals, a blocked shot and an assist.  Sophomore Emily Nicholson (Quispamsis, New Brunswick/Kennebecasis Valley) tossed in 10 points off of the bench on 4-for-5 shooting.  Seniors Gretchen Anderson (Kittery Point, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) and Ella Ramonas (Portland, Maine/Deering) had eight and seven points each.

After shooting a solid 44.4 percent (12-for-27) from the floor in the first half, Southern Maine was held to just 25.8 percent shooting in the second half as the Colonials pulled away.  The Huskies trailed by four, 56-52, after a pair of free throws from Pelletier, but Western Connecticut used a 10-0 run to lead by 14, 66-52, with 4:04 to play.  Crowell scored six points in the run for Western, which scored six of its 10 points from the charity stripe. 

Western finished the game shooting 47.8 percent (22-for-46) from the field, compaired to 34.5 percent (20-for-58) for the Huskies.  The Colonials enjoyed a sizeable advantage at the free throw line making 27-of-36 attempts compared to just 14-of-18 for the Huskies.

Southern Maine will return to action after the holiday break at the Clark Holiday Tournament in Worcester, Mass.  Southern Maine faces Anna Maria College on Wednesday (6:00 p.m.).  The Huskies will then face either Framingham State or Clark University on Thursday (tba).  Western competes at the Dayton Shootout on Sunday (2:00 p.m.) and will face Chatham in its first game.

–cac–