Eastern Connecticut extends its win streak to six games with the win over Southern Maine improving to 13-4 overall and 6-1 in the Little East.  Southern Maine sees its four-game win streak come to a halt to stand at 10-7 overall and 5-2 in the LEC.  Eastern and Southern Maine are 1-1 against each other this season.  With the win, the Warriors stand alone in first place in the conference, while the Huskies are tied with Keene State and Western Connecticut for second place.

Ritrosky led the Warriors with 16 points and 15 rebounds on 7-for-17 shooting.  Nappi scored all 13 of her points in the fourth quarter, including a 5-for-6 effort from the free throw line.  Senior Erin Brooks (Billerica, Mass.) added 11 points and seven rebounds, while junior Julia DePoi (Brookfield, Mass.) had five points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Senior Ella Ramonas (Portland, Maine/Deering) led the Huskies despite missing the first half of the game.  Senior Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) added nine points and four blocked shots, while freshman Alexa Srolovitz (Montreal, Quebec/New Hampton) tossed in seven points.  Sophomores Kayla Stacy (Auburn, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) and Miranda Nicely (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) each had seven rebounds. 

After an traditional three-point play from Srolovitz closed a 5-0 USM run and made it a two-point game with Eastern clinging to a 40-38 lead with 4:22 to play, the Warriors' Nappi canned a clutch three-pointer to halt the Huskies and put her team ahead 43-38.  USM's Pelletier traded back-to-back layups with strong moves in the paint against buckets from Ritrosky and Nappi to keep it a two-possession game, 47-42, with 1:46 to play.  However, ECSU forced a crucial USM turnover and then closed the game out on the line, making 6-of-8 down the stretch for the win.

Southern Maine remains in Little East Conference action when it travels to Plymouth State on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.).  Eastern Connecticut hosts Keene State College on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.).

–cac–