SPRINGFIELD, Mass. â€" Junior center Lisa Masella (Newtown, CT) had 11 points and nine rebounds, and senior forward Shelley Everson (Plainville, CT) added 10 points to lead Western New England College to an easy 69-47 victory over Johnson & Wales University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener for both teams.

The victory put the Golden Bears over the .500 for the first time this season at 5-4.

Sophomore guard Jenna Cullen (East Haddam, CT) and freshman point guard Megan Ferguson (Plainville, CT) each added nine points while sophomore forward Sharon Simoncelli (Litchfield, CT) contributed eight points. Sophomore forward Kerri Sullivan (Cumberland, RI) had six points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.

The Golden Bears shot 50% from the field, including 57.1% in the opening half for a 39-17 lead at intermission.

Johnson & Wales (0-11) had three players scoring in double figures, junior forward Dawn Knowles (Dexter, NY), 12 points, senior guard Karen Thureson (Canton, CT), 12 points, and junior point guard Shatoya Greene (Poughkeepsie, NY), 10 points