Western Conn. St. WC 7-15,2-11 Little East

Plymouth St. Plym 2-18,1-14 Little East

Western Conn. St. WC

7-15,2-11 Little East

Final

Feb. 18, 2022

Plymouth St. Plym

2-18,1-14 Little East

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	OT 1	F
Western Conn. St. WC	11	8	15	17	3	54
Plymouth St. Plym	21	11	9	10	10	61

Summary
Box Score

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 2/18/2022 3:57:00 PM | Christopher J. Kilmer, Asst. Director of Communications for Athletics

WBB: Panthers stave off WestConn in OT

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior Alessia Salzillo (Saugus, Mass.) poured in 16 points, including a clutch baseline jumper in overtime, and classmate Jalen Cook (Monkton, Vt.) added 15 points with a pair of layups in the extra frame to help Plymouth State University hold off Western Connecticut State University, 61-54, in overtime during a Little East Conference (LEC) women's basketball game at Foley Gymnasium on Friday afternoon.

PSU looked impressive from the opening tip, going up by as many as 16 early in the third quarter, but WestConn battled back to take a 48-44 lead with under six minutes left in regulation. The visitors took a 51-49 lead on a free throw in the final minute, but sophomore Sabrina Vlahovic (New Hope, Pa.) got to the rim to tie the game and force OT.

WestConn struck first in the extra frame, converting one-of-two from the line, but Vlahovic banked in a deep jumper and Cook sank a driving layup for a 55-52 advantage. Salzillo drew a key charge and Cook grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the put-back for a five-point lead (57-52). WestConn converted inside to make it a one-possession game, but Vlahovic would come up with a big steal to set up Salzillo's baseline jumper that put the game out of reach.

Plymouth State improves to 2-18 and 1-14 in the LEC, while WestConn drops to 7-16 and 2-12 in conference play. After the regular season finale tomorrow, the same two teams will meet in the LEC Tournament Play-In game on Monday (Feb. 21) at WestConn.

The Basics:

Plymouth State 61, WestConn 54 (OT)
- Plymouth State (2-18, 1-14 LEC)
- WestConn (7-16, 2-12 LEC)

Top Performers:

Alessia Salzillo (16 pts, 8 reb, 3 asts, 3 stl)
Jalen Cook (15 pts, 5 reb, 3 stl, 3 blk, 2 asts)
Lauren Keller (8 pts, 4 reb, 3 stl)

How it Happened:

Plymouth State got out to a strong start scoring the game's first seven points and a driving runner from sophomore Natalie Harris (Barrington, N.H.) pushed the lead to 11-2 midway through the first.
WestConn briefly slowed the momentum with back-to-back buckets, but PSU answered with a 10-0 surge capped by a pull-up jumper by freshman Emma McCulloch (Old Lyme, Conn.) as the lead ballooned to 21-6.
The visitors scored the final five points of the quarter to trim the margin to 21-11 at the end of one.
Both sides cooled off in the second, but the Panthers were able to extend the lead to 27-12 after holding WestConn to 0-of-7 from the floor with no points for a six-minute span.
The visitors cut the deficit to 10, 29-19, but Salzillo drilled a three from the left wing to make it 32-19 at the half.
Plymouth State pushed the lead to 37-21 2:26 into the third, but WestConn followed with a 13-4 surge to make it a 41-34 game entering the final ten minutes.
WestConn continued the push with the first seven points of the fourth quarter to tie the game. Salzillo drilled a three to break the string, but the visitors responded with a 7-0 spurt to go ahead, 48-44, with just over five minutes to play.
PSU held a 49-48 advantage after Vlahovic hit from the charity stripe, but WestConn came back with a bucket and free throw go take a 51-49 lead into the final minute. Vlahovic got inside to tie the game with 38 seconds on the clock and PSU was unable to get a shot off on its final possession.
WestConn went up early in the overtime with a free throw, but Vlahovic answered on the other end and Cook scored twice on the interior to give the Panthers a 57-52 lead.
With PSU nursing a 57-54 lead, Vlahovic came up with a clutch steal and Salzillo nailed a crucial baseline jumper on the ensuing possession before icing the game with a pair from the charity stripe.

By the Numbers:

The Panthers shot a blistering 60% from the floor and forced eight WestConn turnovers in the first quarter.
WestConn controlled the glass, outrebounding the Panthers by a 59-37 margin, but Plymouth State's defense forced 34 turnovers resulting in 23 points for PSU.
Plymouth State outscored WestConn, 28-18, in the paint.
The teams split the regular season series with each team winning on its home court. PSU's win snaps a string of five straight losses to WestConn.

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