SPRINGFIELD, Mass. â€" Western New England College needed a big game from senior forward Sharon Simoncelli (Litchfield, CT) and got it.

Simoncelli, who had totaled only seven points in her last two contests, scored 21 points while junior guard Jen Dabrowski (Plainville, CT) tossed in 23 points with seven rebounds as the Golden Bears defeated visiting Johnson & Wales University 62-49 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women’s basketball game Saturday (Jan. 20) at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Western New England College (5-8) improved its conference mark to 2-1 with its second straight win.

JWU (7-10) saw a three-game winning streak ended after suffering its first GNAC loss in four outings.

The teams battled to a 33-33 half-time before the Golden Bears scored the first 11 points of the second stanza for a 44-33 advantage capped by a Simoncelli jumper at the 15:35 mark.

Johnson & Wales came within seven at 50-43 followed a basket by freshman forward Alexia Ramirez (San Marcos, CA) with 7:36 remaining in the game. WNEC then scored the next eight points and was never threatened down the stretch.

Senior forward Vicky Taylor (Feeding Hills, MA) didn’t score any points, but collected 13 rebounds for the Golden Bears. Junior guard Katie Arey (Enfield, NH) chipped in with six points, five assists, and five steals.

Ramirez finished with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats while sophomore forward Shannon Hunter (Thoreau, NM) had 10 points. Senior center Samantha Cowens (Needham, MA) added eight points and a game-high 17 rebounds. She is the daughter of former Celtics great Dave Cowens.