WILLAMANTIC, Conn. – Danielle O'Brien and Julie Keckler each scored 14 points to lead the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors to a 71-42 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Geissler Gymnasium.
O'Brien was 5-for-11 from the field, while Keckler was 5-for-10. Mariah Dunn added 12 points for the Warriors, while Anna Barry had eight points, a game-high 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots,
Junior
Amy Fleming (Berwick, Maine/Noble) led Southern Maine with 11 points and four steals. Junior
Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H.) and
Franny Ramsdell (Wells, Maine) and freshman
Emma Haskell (Hampden, Maine/Hampden Academy) each had seven points.
The Records:
Southern Maine (6-17, 4-10 Little East)
Eastern Connecticut (20-4, 14-1 Little East)
Series History:
Meeting for the 98
th time in series history, Southern Maine leads the overall series 68-30. Eastern Connecticut has won both 2022-23 regular season games this season and the last eight over USM.
How It Happened:
- The Warriors scored the first seven points of the game and led wire-to-wire. USM sophomore Gabby Green (Manchester, Maine/Maranacook) scored the Huskies first three points of the game on a traditional three-point play, and USM 12-7 after a layup from Haskell at the 3:01 mark of the first quarter, but ECSU closed the first on a 6-2 run to lead 18-9.
- In the second, USM stayed within three possessions, and trailed 26-17 with 4:00 to play before the break following a layup from Gould, but the Warriors responded with a 5-0 run led by a three from O'Brien to surge ahead 31-17. The Warriors led 33-21 at the half.
- ECSU took control of the game in the third, outscoring USM 20-6. The Warriors scored the first 12 points of the third led by back-to-back threes from Keckler and O'Brien to lead 45-21 with 6:01 to play. At the end of the third, ECSU led comfortably 53-27.
- USM kept paced with the Warriors in the fourth but were unable to get any closer than 24 points the rest of the way for the final.
Inside The Stats:
- Eastern Connecticut had a 45-21 advantage on the boards, snagging 15 offensive rebounds. The Warriors scored 13 points off of second-chance buckets.
Up Next:
Southern Maine remains on the road and will travel to UMass Boston on Wednesday (5:30 pm) and will host Western Connecticut on Saturday (1:00 pm).
-cac-