DANBURY, CT (Feb. 19) - The Western Connecticut State University women's basketball team stormed out to a 24-point half-time lead and never looked back, advancing to the Little East Conference tournament semifinals with a 52-34 win over Keene State College Tuesday evening at Feldman Arena.

Scoring in double figures for Western were seniors Nicole Eanniello (Danbury, CT) and Carly Muphy (Wolcott, CT) with 10 points each.  Junior Chelsea Mone (Bristol, CT) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to lead the Colonials.

For Keene State, senior Siobhan Carnell (Quincy, MA) led all scorers with 12 points, followed by junior Carly Kiernan with 10 points.

The first half scoring remained tight for the game's first five minutes, but with the score tied 6-6, a jumper by Eanniello began a 15-point Western run to give the Colonials a 21-6 lead at the midway point of the half.  After a brief four-point run by Keene State, Western scored 10 unanswered points for a 31-10 lead with just under five minutes on the clock.  A three-point play by Murphy in the final minute closed out the first-half scoring, giving Western a commanding 38-14 lead going into the locker room at intermission.

Keene State cut into the 24-point Western half-time lead by opening the second half with a 10-3 run, but a jumper by freshman Lydia Walter (East Haddam, CT) and a three-pointer by junior Sciarra Brandt (Thomaston, CT) pushed the Western lead back to 22 points.  Carnell hit a jumper at the 7:26 mark to bring the Owls back to within 17 points, 49-32, but both teams struggled to score in the game's final five minutes and Western advanced to the tournament semifinals by the final margin of 52-34.

For the game, Western held a commanding 54-30 advantage in rebounds, and also had a 15-8 edge in assists.  Western finished shooting 33.3% from the floor and 46.7% from the line, while Keene State shot 26.4% and 100.0% respectively.

With the win, Western's record now stands at 19-7 and the #2 seeded Colonials advance to play in Friday's semi-finals at Southern Maine against the winner of #3 UMass Dartmouth and #6 UMass  Boston.  Tipoff time in Gorham has not yet been announced.

(Courtesy WCSU Sports Information)