WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - Despite racking up 27 bench points, the Western Connecticut State University women's basketball team fell at cross-state archrival Eastern Connecticut State University, 58-47, in a Little East Conference contest on Wednesday night. 

With the loss, the Wolves dropped to 11-4 overall and 4-3 in league play, while the Warriors improved to 13-4 and 7-1. 

Junior guard Maggie Nardini (Sandwich, Mass.) and sophomore forward Alyssa Virtue (Groton, Conn.) paced the visitors with eight points apiece. Virtue was also one of three WestConn players to snag six rebounds. 

Julie Keckler led the hosts with a game-high 18 points, while Anna Barry notched a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 13 boards.

Eastern opened the game with a 10-2 run. Barry finished off the spurt with a layup off a pass from Keckler. The hosts would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.

WestConn put forth a rally late in the third quarter that extended early into the fourth. They cut the deficit to just three points when Virtue pushed in a short range shot seven seconds into the final stanza, shrinking the margin to 40-37. 

However, the Warriors answered with a 12-4 run to put the game out of reach. Taylor Salato rounded out the run with a jumper from the paint, expanding the Eastern advantage to 52-41 with 4:38 remaining. Keckler set the final score at 58-47 with a pair of free throws. Eastern sank 14-of-18 shots from the stripe for the game, while WestConn managed just 6-of-10. 

The Wolves will look to get back to their winning ways when they host Plymouth State in another LEC tilt on Saturday at 1 p.m.