DANBURY, Conn. - Senior forward Sara Macary (Naugatuck, Conn.) had 23 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks to lead the Western Connecticut State University Wolves to a 52-47 win over the visiting Rhode Island College Anchorwomen in Little East Conference (LEC) women's basketball action this evening at Feldman Arena.  WestConn improves to 5-8 overall and collects its first league victory in five tries with its first win over the Anchorwomen since 2018.  Rhode Island College drops to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the LEC and sees its 14-game winning streak against the Wolves snapped.  WestConn will visit the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Corsairs next in an LEC game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

WestConn trailed, 28-21, at halftime but outscored the Anchorwomen, 18-3, in the third quarter to lead, 39-31, at the last break and maintained its lead the entire final frame.  Macary opened the second half quarter with four free throws, followed by a bucket inside by sophomore forward Fatmata Barrie (Staten Island, N.Y.), and hit back-to-back jumpers after that to give the Wolves a 31-28 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.  Abby Wager tied the game with a pair Rhode Island College free throws moments later before Barrie scored three times and Macary during WestConn's 8-0 run to close the quarter.

Rhode Island College fought back and cut its deficit to 41-40 on a jumper by Shalyn Smith with 5:31 left in the game.  Macary answered with a layup and senior forward Leana Heitmann (East Syracuse, N.Y.) scored the next five points on an old-fashioned three-point play and two more free throws to push the Wolves' lead back up to 46-40 with 2:52 on the clock.  Smith drilled a trey to make the score, 50-47, in the home team's favor at the 18-second mark.  Macary and WestConn senior guard Francesca Foster (Mystic, Conn.) hit late free throws to seal the win.  

The first quarter saw little scoring early, as sophomore guard Gianna Castellano (East Haven, Conn.) gave WestConn its last lead until the second half at 5-4 on a free throw with 3:05 left.  Wager made a three-pointer to a 7-0 run by the Anchorwomen but Macary closed the opening stanza with a short jumper to make it, 11-8.  Wager gave Rhode Island College its largest lead of the game at the 1:40 mark of the second frame, giving the visitors a 24-15 lead with a steal and fastbreak layup.  Macary drilled two jumpers late the second quarter to help the Wolves head to intermission within seven points.

Barrie joined Macary in double figures in scoring with a career-high 19 points to go with a game-high 13 boards and a block.  Heitmann collected six points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three blocks, as WestConn outrebounded Rhode Island College, 34-23.  Wager had 16 points and Meagan Schuermann added 13 points for the Anchorwomen.