DANBURY, Conn. - Sophomore guard Nicole Vivian (New Milford, Conn.) scored a team-high 13 points, but for the second straight day, the Western Connecticut State University women's basketball team fell to visiting SUNY Polytechnic Institute at Feldman Arena.

Vivian finished with a game-high three assists while junior guard Ashley Rilley (Orangeburg, N.Y.) came off the bench and added 10 points and four rebounds for WestConn, which drops to 6-5 on the year.

The Wildcats, now 8-3, were led by junior Lyrik Jackson's 26 points.  The University of New Haven transfer, who was cleared to play prior to the start of Friday's game, connected on 16-of-17 free throws, hauled down eight rebounds in 30 minutes of action.

Molly Burdick and Alexandra DeBeatham added 17 and 16 points, respectively for the winners.  Burdick collected a game-high 14 caroms for Poly.

Senior Katelyn Fanning (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) finished with a team-high nine boards for WestConn.

After falling behind, 15-7 after the first quarter, WestConn drew even at 24-24 at intermission.  Vivian scored nine of her points in the third stanza as the two teams matched each other with 19 points apiece.

Going into the final period, deadlocked at 43-43, the Wildcats, with a roster of 10 healthy players, were able to convert 6-of-8 attempts from the charity stripe while WestConn were never invited to the line in the final 10 minutes.  Poly outscored the hosts, 20-8 in the final quarter.

There were 10 ties and seven lead changes in the contest.  WestConn's largest lead came following a three-point bucket from Vivian with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter.

WestConn returns to Little East Conference action on Monday, January 3 when it travels to Castleton University for a 2 pm tip.

The Wildcats host Bryant and Stratton of Rochester (N.Y.) in a non-conference affair on Tuesday, January 4 at 5 pm.