Warriors Pull Away for 77-53 Win, Fernandes Tops 700 Career Rebound Mark

Warriors Pull Away for 77-53 Win, Fernandes Tops 700 Career Rebound Mark

SALEM, Mass. – Mya Villard (Cromwell, Conn.) scored 18 points and Julie Jordan (Sterling, Mass.) added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds as Eastern Connecticut defeated Salem State 77-53 in the second game of the Salem State Holiday Classic on Saturday afternoon. Castleton beat Endicott 55-51 earlier in the day.  

Kia Fernandes (Wareham, Mass.), who scored seven points and added seven rebounds became just the third player in Salem State history to record 1,000 points, 700 rebounds (705) and more than 150 blocked shots for their career.

Villard scored 10 first quarter points, going 5-for-5 from the field as Eastern Connecticut jumped out to a 21-11 lead. Both teams were plagued by poor shooting in the second quarter as the Warriors managed to hit just three shots on 10 attempts (30%) while Salem State went 1-for-9 (11.1%) from the field over the first seven minutes. Jordan gave East Conn. its largest lead 35-16 with 2:10 remaining in the half before the Warriors settled for a 37-21 advantage at halftime. Gianna Moschella (Peabody, Mass.) paced the Vikings with nine first half points.

Eight straight points by Salem State cut the deficit to 37-29 as Eastern Connecticut went over four minutes without a field goal to begin the third. Following a three-pointer by Julia Mattera (Arlington, Mass.), the Warriors went on a 9-2 run, sparked by a three-point play by Sabrina LeMere (North Brandford, Conn.) to re-establish control. A layup by Anna Barry (Andover, Conn.) put East Conn. on top by 18, 56-38 at the end of three.

The Warriors, who shot 50.8% (32-63) for the game, closed out the fourth quarter strong paced by six points off the bench from Danielle O'Brien (Rockland, Mass.) going 9-16 (56.3%) from the field to pull away for a 24-point victory.

LeMere and Kelsey Santagata (Stamford, Conn.) each had 11 points and combined for eight rebounds and eight assists for the Warriors, who improve to 7-2 on the season.  

Moschella poured in 15 points for the Vikings (2-8) as Salem State went just 17-63 (27%) from the floor for the game. Irianis Delgado (Lynn, Mass.) added eight points in just seven minutes of action for the Vikings.