DANBURY, Conn. – The Western Connecticut State University women’s basketball team rallied from 18 points back early in the second half but Eastern Connecticut State University recovered over the final six minutes to post a 72-60 Little East Conference win Tuesday night at Feldman Arena.

Ranked No. 15 nationally, Eastern (20-2, 10-1 little east) moves ahead of Western (17-4, 9-2 little east) in the chase for the LEC regular season regular-season title. The teams entered play sharing the top spot in the conference. The Warriors have won 11 straight. Western is 16-2 in its last 18 games, both losses to Eastern.

Western went scoreless from the floor for 11 minutes in the first half as Eastern used a 17-4 run over the final eight minutes of the half to move out to a 16-point, 32-18 halftime lead.The Warriors scored the first four points of the second half as the lead ballooned to 18, 36-18. The second-ranked team in the conference in three-point field goals,
Western shook off 1-for-10 three-point shooting in the first half to connect on five three-pointers in the first six minutes of the second half to cut the deficit to single digits, 43-35.

In all, Western outscored Eastern 26-8 over a 10-minute stretch in the second half, finally taking its first lead since the opening minutes of the game, 47-46, on a pair of free throws from Stacey Roberts. With the score tied at 51-51, Eastern shook free again, outscoring the hosts 8-1 to pull away, 59-52, with five minutes left. After senior forward Ashley McFetridge (Canton, Conn.) sank two free throws after being fouled while grabbing an offensive rebound to put Eastern up for good, the Warriors got consecutive three-point plays around a Western free throw from senior guard Nicky Morey (Columbia, Conn.) and sophomore guard Jessica Moriarty (East Haven, Conn.) to make it 59-52. Morey stole the ball and completed a three-point play with a free throw, and Moriarty sank her only three-point field goal on her only try 30 seconds later.

McFetridge tied her season high with 24 points (9-for-16 FG, 6-for-8 FT) and recorded her fourth double-double in the last six games with a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots.. Morey had 16 points (7-for-9 from the foul line) and seven assists; Moriarty had 12 points (10 in the second half) and nine rebounds, sinking five of six from the floor; and senior forward Kate Brunet (Bristol, Conn.) 11 points and five rebounds.

The top defensive team in the conference, Eastern held three Western starters to a total of seven points on 2-for-14 shooting from the floor. Karli Spera was Western’s only starter in double-figure scorer, netting 13 points, Roberts had nine points and six rebounds. Melissa Teel came off the bench for ten rebounds, six points and four blocked shots in 18 minutes and Isabella Henry came off the bench for ten points in 19 minutes.

Eastern visits UMass Dartmouth Saturday at 1 p.m. in a Little East Conference game.

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