NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's basketball team overcame a rough start to secure a 64-54 victory over Arcadia University on Saturday afternoon at Luce Field House.

The Camels weathered a long-range barrage in the opening quarter but kept the Knights in check the rest of the way. Arcadia led by 11 in the first half but saw the margin shrink to one by the break. Conn quickly pulled in front after intermission and never trailed again, expanding the lead to as many as 11 late in the contest.

Catie Donadio (Clinton, Conn.) turned in a solid all-around game for the Camels, stuffing the stat sheet with 15 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. Avery Burns (Orleans, Mass.) netted all of her season-high 11 points in the second half, and Catie Hurley (Walpole, Mass.) came off the bench to supply career highs of nine points and 11 boards. 

Arcadia shot out of the gates early, connecting on its first five three-point attempts to grab a 15-8 lead just over four minutes into the game. Hanna Rhoades supplied three treys during the spurt while Delaney Bell accounted for the other two. Rhoades added another three later in the quarter, and by the end of the first the Knights led 21-12.

Rhoades continued with the hot hand early in the second period, adding a jumper and another three to bump Arcadia's lead to 28-17. However, the Camels buckled down on the defensive end for the rest of the half, holding the Knights scoreless over the final 7:55 of the stanza.

Hurley and Donadio helped bring Conn back, each contributing four points during a 10-0 run to close the half. The Camels had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds but went into the locker room down 28-27 at the intermission. Arcadia, which missed its final 10 shots of the half, scored only seven points in the second quarter. Rhoades led all scorers with 17 points at the break. 

The Camels tied the game on their first possession of the second half thanks to a three-point play by Donadio. Minutes later, a three-point play by Hayle Thompson (Maynard, Mass.) put Conn in front for good. Burns caught fire in the final three minutes of the period, sinking back-to-back triples and adding a jumper in the lane to extend the lead to 49-40.

Leading 49-44 heading into the final quarter, Conn got big buckets at key moments to keep the Knights at bay. Burns splashed another triple early in the stanza to make it 54-47, Mia Xerras (Charlotte, N.C.) scored five straight points to pad the margin to 59-51 with 4:29 to go, and Catherine Cole (Lebanon, N.H.) drilled a three with 1:31 remaining that all but sealed the victory.

Rhoades finished with a game-high 23 points to pace the Knights (6-5 overall). 

Conn (9-4 overall) opens NESCAC play at Colby College on Friday, January 10 at 7:00 p.m.