HARTFORD, Conn. – The Trinity College Women's Basketball team kicked off their 2024-25 campaign with a 76-59 victory over visiting Eastern Connecticut State in a non-conference game at Oosting Gymnasium Friday night. The Bantams start with a 1-0 record, while the Warriors dip to 0-2 overall.
 
Sophomore Olivia Vick led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the floor, with a career-high four assists. Senior Hannah Marzo netted 11 points off the bench, while junior Samantha Slofkiss matched a career-high with 10 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Madison Forman pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds, including eight offensive rebounds, with a career-high eight points in the win. Juniors Melissa Whitmore and Theresa Twardosky, and sophomore Kiki Fossbender notched seven points apiece.
 
Eastern Conference State was paced by a team-high 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists from senior Taylor Salato. First-year Liv Cassesse added 12 points, two rebounds and two assists, while sophomore Marissa Nudd recorded nine points and three rebounds.
 
The Bantams started off slow as the Warriors jumped to an 8-2 lead in the opening two minutes of action. Trailing midway through the first quarter, Forman delivered back-to-back buckets to trim the gap to 13-10. East Conn closed the first quarter on a 7-3 run to take a 20-13 advantage.
 
A jumper from Salato gave the Warriors their largest lead of the game, 24-15, at the 9:07 mark. Marzo and Twardosky knocked down triples, and then Slofkiss converted a pair of buckets to close the gap to 28-25 with 4:26 on the clock. Trinity added baskets from Twardosky, Vick and sophomore Avery Marzo down the stretch to trim the gap to 32-31 at the half.
 
A trey from Vick opened the third quarter to give the Bantams their first lead, igniting a 16-5 over the next five minutes, capped by a three-point play from Hannah Marzo to put Trinity ahead 47-38. The Bantams continued to control the pace with buckets from Fossbender, Twardosky and Vick to take a 53-44 lead into the fourth.
 
The Bantams put the game away in the fourth quarter, erupting with an 18-8 run over the opening six minutes, and a three-pointer from Fossbender gave Trinity their largest lead of the game, 71-52. The Bantams added baskets from Fossbender and sophomore Lucy Palmer to cap the 76-59 win.
 
The Bantams dominated the rebounding column, 37-23, and the paint, 46-28, while the Trinity bench outscored the Warriors, 40-8, during the contest. Trinity connected on 32-of-68 (47.1%) from the field, including 7-of-20 (35%) from three-point range, and 5-of-7 (71.4%) from the foul line. Eastern Connecticut State shot 19-of-44 (43.2%) from the floor, 2-of-9 (22.2%) from three-point, and 19-of-25 (76%) from the charity stripe.
 
Head Coach Maria Williamson becomes the third coach in program history to win their debut on the Bantams bench, joining Maureen Pine (1987-88) and Robin Sheppard (1975-76). The 17-point victory is the largest margin in a debut win in program history.
 
The Bantams will return to the court when they host Springfield College at Oosting Gymnasium Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.