PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plymouth State University women's basketball team dropped its Little East Conference (LEC) season opener, falling to Western Connecticut State University, 66-45, at Foley Gymnasium on Saturday.
Plymouth State opened with a strong first quarter, trailing the Wolves by just four points. WestConn used a 13-0 run to close out the first half that proved to be the difference maker. The Panthers played tough throughout the second half, closing out with a 19-point quarter.
Senior
Alessia Salzillo (Saugus, Mass.) led the Panthers in scoring with nine points, while classmate
Jalen Cook (Monkton, Vt.) and junior
Lauren Keller (Fort Morgan, Colo.) added seven points apiece.
Plymouth State falls to 4-3 (0-1 LEC), while the Wolves move to 4-1 and 1-0 in league action.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 45, WestConn 66
- Plymouth State (4-3, 0-1 LEC)
- WestConn (4-1, 1-0 LEC)
Top Performers:
How it Happened:
- WestConn opened play with a 6-3 advantage midway through the first quarter.
- PSU scored the last four points of the frame to trail just 14-10 after one.
- On the back of a 13-0 run to close out the second, the Wolves stretched the gap to 33-15 at the half.
- Plymouth State bounced back in the second half, matching WestConn with 19 points in the fourth quarter and being outscored by just three in the second half, but the deficit deemed too large to come back from.
By the Numbers:
- The Panthers went 14-of-49 (23.7%) from the floor and 3-of-14 (21.4%) from three.
- WestConn held a 47-34 advantage on the glass, including a 13-11 edge on the offensive boards.
- Plymouth State scored 20 points off 20 WestConn turnovers.
- The Wolves bench outscored the PSU reserves by an 18-13 margin.
- The Panthers have lost two straight the WestConn. The teams split the season series last year.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State stays in conference action when the Panthers travel to rival Keene State on Wednesday (Dec. 7) for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
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