DANBURY, Conn. - Rookie guard Deona Garcia (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) canned a game-high 15 points, while classmate forward Nia Rencher (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) and senior guard Nicole Peralta (North Windham, Conn.) chipped in with 12 apiece to lead the Western Connecticut State University women's basketball team to a 66-57 victory over visiting Plymouth State Univerisity in a Little East Conference matchup at Feldman Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Garcia came off the bench to drain a game-high four three-pointers, while Rencher pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to earn yet another double-double. Senior forward Alyssa Virtue (Groton, Conn.) added 11 points and six boards, while junior guard Malaysia Dingle (Brockton, Mass.) contributed 10 points while serving up a game-high seven assists. 

First-year reserve guard Kaley Goodhart (Center Conway, N.H) led the Panthers with 12 points, while junior forward Hailey Malozzi (Maynard, Mass.) notched 11 to go along with team-highs of eight rebounds and four dimes.

Dingle earned the first bucket of the game as the hosts raced out to an early 7-0 lead. The visitors quickly countered with a 9-0 flurry to seize the advantage.The lead changed hands several times in the second before the squads entered halftime deadlocked at 30-30 courtesy of a trifecta from Goodhart.

The teams continued to trade buckets in the third before WestConn reeled off a run to capture a 47-38 advantage when Rencher sank a pair from the charity stripe. Plymouth sliced it to 50-46 early in the fourth but the Wolves retaliated with a 10-0 spurt to take command. Rencher rounded out the barrage with an offensive putback with 5:49 remaining. 

With the win, WestConn snapped an eight-game skid, improving to 5-13 overall and 3-6 in league play, while the Panthers dropped to 3-14 and 0-9. WestConn returns to action at LEC opponent UMass Boston on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.