Ranked sixth in the eight-team conference in free throw percentage, Western (10-7, 3-5 little east) connected on 19 of 25 free throws in the game while Eastern (5-12, 1-7 little east) missed 14 of 27 from the stripe. The Colonials hit eight of nine free throws in overtime and 13 of 16 after the half, when they trailed by three, 32-29. The Warriors missed 13 of 24 free throws after halftime.
Western, last year’s conference playoff champion, wiped out a five-point deficit with 30 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, where it took the lead for good on Norfleet’s basket in the paint two minutes into the extra session. With Western down by five in regulation, 67-62, senior guard Greg Cole canned a three-pointer to cut the gap to two with 25 seconds left. With Western pressing, freshman guard Dashon Jennings stole the ball under the basket and layed it in with 17 seconds left to tie the game at 67 and force overtime.
Cole, the conference leader in three-point field goals, led all players with 18 points – nine coming on three three-pointers. Norfleet added 15 points while senior forward Jason Barnett, freshman forward Marcus Mann and sophomore center Andrew Snell each had seven rebounds.
Junior forward Leon Martin paced five double-figures scorers for Eastern with 14 points, sophomore guard Shiwon Davis adding 13, junior guards Matt Albon and Geoffrey Richardson 11 each and sophomore center Kevin Zalucki ten points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Eastern visits the University of Southern Maine Saturday at 3 p.m. in a Little East Conference g
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
EASTERN CONN. W-BASKETBALL HOLDS OFF WESTERN CONN., 55-52
Kline saves the day off the bench, sparking Eastern to its ninth consecutive win
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior Katie Kline (NORTH BROOKFIELD, MA) came off the bench to score 11 points and grab eight rebounds in the second half to help lead the Eastern Connecticut State University women’s basketball team to a 55-52 Little East Conference victory over Western Connecticut State University Tuesday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
Eastern (14-2, 7-1 little east) now holds a nine game winning streak – its longest streak since it won ten in a row midway through the 2003/04 campaign -- and has beaten Western (8-10, 4-4 little east) 11 times in the last 14 meetings. Eastern remains a game behind unbeaten conference leader University of Southern Maine, the No. 1 ranked team in Division III.
Eastern led by 11 points seven minutes into the second half before the Colonials rallied, scoring eight straight points over the next two minutes to cut the deficit to three points, 36-33 with 11 minutes left. After the Warriors built the lead back to seven, the Colonials responded with another run, scoring seven in a row to take their first lead since the opening minutes, 49-48 with just under three minutes left.
With the score tied at 52 with 50 seconds left, Kline layed in a pass from freshman guard Kate Brunet (BRISTOL) to give the Warriors a 54-52 lead 28 seconds left. Junior forward Sandy Mosley (GOSHEN) then stole the ball on Western’s next possession with 9.5 seconds left, was fouled, and hit the first of two free throws to push the lead to three, 55-52. Mosley missed the second free throw, and after a timeout, Western inbounded in front of its own bench with 5.6 seconds left. A long three-pointer from the top of the key failed as time ran out.
The 6-foot-1 inch Kline, limited to two points and two rebounds in eight first-half minutes, shared game-high scoring honors with Brunet, both scoring 13. In the final seven minutes, Kline contributed three inside buckets, four rebounds and an assist. With Eastern leading by two points, 43-41 with seven minutes left, Kline grabbed an offensive rebound of a missed free throw and fed senior guard Lindsey Karsmarski (MERIDEN) for a three-point basket that made it 46-41. After a Western turnover, Kline dropped in another layup to extend the lead to seven, 48-41, with 6:30 left.
Kline recorded her third double-double of the year by grabbing a game-high ten rebounds -- five on the offensive end. She was 6-for-7 from the floor, lifting her season’s field goal percentage over 70 per cent to 70.5 (43-for-61).
Western was saddled with 23 turnovers, but only seven came in the second half, when it shot 50 per cent from the floor and outscored the hosts by two. Sophomore guard Ally Greenwood and freshman guard Alyssa McGhee each had ten points for Western, whose three straight losses have come on the heels of a four-game winning streak.
Eastern hosts Clark University Thursday at 7 p.m.