Western Connecticut defeated the College of Staten Island, 77-56 at Feldman Arena on a snowy Saturday afternoon in Danbury, CT.

Prior to the start of the contest, Western Head Coach Kimberley Rybczyk addressed the crowd and honored the lives of members Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, which were tragically taken far too soon, back on December 14.

Freshman forward Sha'Quira Palmer recorded a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds and had five blocks and five steals to lead the Western Connecticut State University

In the first half, after being tied at 9-9, the Colonials went on a 14-0 run during a 7:47 span.  Senior Carly Murphy capped off the run with a lay in with 9:02 left in the first stanza.  Murphy led all players with 13 points and five rebounds in the opening half.  She went on to lead all scorers with 18 points while grabbing nine boards for the winners

The Dolphins drew within seven points, 32-25, following a bucket by Olivia Tierno with 3:00 remaining before the break.

Western kicked it into gear over the final three minutes and scored eight of the half's final 10 points and took a 40-27 advantage into the locker room.

In the second half, Western, now 7-3, held a double-digit lead throughout.  Its biggest lead was 23 points, on three different occasions.

Jackie Zilnicki was the third Colonial player scoring in double digits.  She finished with 13 points and pulled in six caroms.

Three players reached double digits in the scoring column for CSI.  Lisa Galasso led her team with 14 points and three assists.

Nikki Fabozzi  and Megan Myhre added 13 and 12 points, respectively for the Dolphins which drop to 6-5 on the season.

The Dolphins are back in action on Saturday, January 5, as they take on Baruch College.

-Story courtesy of Western Connecticut Athletics