WILLAMANTIC, Conn.   –  Anna Barry and Mya Villard each scored 15 points to lead four players in double figures as the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors defeated the University of Southern Maine Huskies 79-59 in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Geissler Gymnasium. 

         Barry was 7-for-11 from the field for her 15 points, picking up a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds, adding five blocked shots.  Villard was 6-for-9 with six rebounds.  Lizzy Cretella added 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting with five rebounds, and three assists, while Julie Keckler had 13 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.  With the win, Eastern Connecticut improves to 18-3 overall and 11-1 in the Little East. 

         Southern Maine senior Jackie Luckhardt (Londonderry, N.H.) led the Huskies with 13 points, five assists, six steals and three rebounds.  Junior Morgan Eliasen (Lewiston, Maine) had eight points for USM, while junior Abi Ramirez (Portland, Maine) and sophomore Victoria Harris (Altus, Okla./Lewiston) each scored seven points.  Ramirez had a pair of assists and steals for the Huskies, while Harris had three steals and two blocked shots.  The loss drops the Huskies record to 9-13 overall and 4-9 in the LEC. 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

•  Both teams battled closely in the first quarter with ECSU leading 17-15 at the end of the frame.  Villard had seven of her 15 points in the first, while Luckhardt had seven for the Huskies. 
• ECSU knocked down four three-pointers in the second quarter to outscore USM 21-11.  Shooting 4-for-5 from beyond the arc in the second, Cretella and Keckler each had two.  Barry, Cretella and Keckler led the Warriors with six points each in the second. 
• USM freshman Brittany Desjardin (Gorham, Maine) led the Huskies in the second with five points on 2-of-4 shooting, including a three.  The Huskies collected four steals in the quarter, including two from Luckhardt, but were unable to convert them into points shooting just 31.3 percent (5-for-16) from the field compared to ECSU's 66.7 percent (8-for-12). 
• The Warriors continued to shoot well from the field in the third outscoring USM 23-12 on 9-of-16 from the floor (56.3 percent).  Barry and Villard led the way with five points each, while Sabrina LeMere scored four off of the bench. Conversely, USM stayed cold offensively shooting just 15.4 percent (2-for-13), scoring eight of its points from the free throw line.   
• Southern Maine found its shooting rhythm in the fourth quarter, shooting 46.2 percent from the field, including a 3-for-4 mark from three-point range. Senior Katie Howe (New Boston, N.H./Goffstown) paced USM in the final quarter with five points off of the bench as the Huskies outscored the Warriors 21-18. 

HUSKY NOTES: 

• Luckhardt moves to 737 points, 407 rebounds, 241 assists and 241 steals after today's game. Luckhardt's six steals give her sole possession of ninth in USM career record books. 
• Harris earned her 50th career blocked shot. The 5-10 sophomore has 481 points, 235 rebounds, 66 steals and 50 blocks in 48 career games. 

UP NEXT: 

         Southern Maine remains in Little East Conference action and will host Plymouth State on Wednesday (5:30 pm).  The Huskies will be hosting a Think Pink game for breast cancer awareness. 

–cac–