Women’s Basketball Winning Streak Snapped at Eight

WILLIMANTIC, CONN. – The Plymouth State College Women’s Basketball team lost a close game to Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday, February 1, with a score of 80-89 at Geissler Gymnasium. The loss ended the Panthers’ eight-game winning streak, which was one win shy of the school record for consecutive wins. Their record now stands at 13-6 overall and 6-3 in the Little East Conference. The Warriors, who are ranked 19th in the Division III national poll, rose to 17-2 overall and 8-1 in the LEC.

Panther senior, Whitney Morin, lead the Panther offense with a career-high 32 points, and is well on her way to becoming the 9th woman in Plymouth State College history to reach the prestigious 1000 point mark in their college career. Morin also had 10 rebounds, and classmate Heather Adey added 14 points and collected 11 rebounds. Senior Courtney Albert also had 7 points.

Eastern had one outstanding player that really proved to be the main drive in the victory over the Panthers. Junior Allison Coleman led the Warriors throughout the game with 26 points, 13 rebounds, 14 assists, and 4 steals. The Eastern effort was also assisted by junior Deanna Prior, who had 24 points and 8 rebounds, as well as senior Morgan Perry, who sunk 12 points.

The game went back and forth throughout the first half and the entire game, with both teams neither looking nor willing to give up. The Panthers led by five points twice in the first half, but the Warriors rebounded and gained a nine point lead. Unwilling to let that stand, the Panthers knocked the lead down to six points, leaving a 43-47 score at the break. After the half, Plymouth was once again in the lead as a result of two three pointers made by Albert and Morin as well as a jumper sunk by junior Mandi Allen. Unfortunately, that lead would not stand, and the Warriors took the lead 64-63 with nine minutes left on the clock. Even though the Panthers’ fought hard to turn the game around, the Warriors held on to the lead and won the game.

The Women’s Basketball team also had a huge home win over Johnson and Wales University in a non-conference game on Thursday, January 30 with a score of 78-52 in Foley Gymnasium. The win brought the Panthers’ record to 13-5 with eight straight wins, just one shy of the school record for consecutive wins, while the Wildcats dropped to 5-12 for the season. Senior point guard Jenn Pelletier had a season-high 20 points in the game and shot extremely well from the floor, sinking 3 of 6 three-point shots and shooting 7-12 throughout the entire game.

Along with Pelletier, classmates Courtney Albert with 12 points, Whitney Morin, with 10 points, and Heather Adey with 9 points and a team-high 12 rebounds were the core of the Panther offense during this game. However, they were not unassisted by their teammates. Thirteen different players from the Panthers’ team all contributed shots to make the game a smashing win.

The Wildcats were not at their best, shooting just 23 percent from the field and their top scorers’ sophomore Erin Gafford and freshman Melissa Fidalgo both sinking only eight baskets with 14 rebounds and 11 boards, respectively.

The low scores for Johnson and Wales made the Panthers’ job simple as they lead early on 18-8. They continued to dominate the game, ending the half with a solid 17 point lead, 38-21. That lead would increase to and hold steady at 20 points for the majority of the second half, leaving the final score at 56-39 with the win going to the Panthers.

The Women’s Basketball team will next play at home on Saturday, February 8, at 1:00 p.m. for a Little East Conference game against Western Connecticut.