Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Sophomore Sammie Battaini led four Golden Bears in double figures with a career- and game-high 20 points and Western New England coasted to a 69-49 victory over Endicott in Commonwealth Coast Conference women's basketball action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center on Saturday afternoon. With its second-straight win holding an opponent to under 50 points, the Golden Bears improve to 10-4 on the season and 5-3 in the CCC. The Gulls fall to 6-9 and 2-6.

Sophomore Sammie Olson added 13 points for WNE while junior Chelsea Vujs (11 points, 12 rebounds) was three assists shy of a triple-double and freshman Dorothy O'Neill chipped in 10 points. Olson knocked down three of the Golden Bears' 10 three-pointers, as the team set season highs for makes and percentage (.556 on 18 attempts).

Gabriella Copolla led Endicott off the bench with 11 points, followed by Kelsey Cuddy and Hannah Shaw with 10 apiece.
 
Vujs' ability to play both sides of the ball was evident in the first half. With just over five minutes remaining, she came from the weak side and swatted a shot, grabbed the ball and worked it up the court. Junior Amanda Lopez (2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) then found Vujs on the wing, where she knocked down her second trey of the first half, giving the Golden Bears a 35-18 lead.
 
Olson drained a 3-pointer at 18:41 from the top of the key, which triggered a 30-12 run filled with offensive and defensive pushes from the Golden Bears. Olson had eight first- half points, hitting 2-of-3 of her attempts from downtown; the Golden Bears hit seven first-half 3s on 11 attempts. Olson's long-range basket gave the Golden Bears the lead, which they kept for the remainder of the game.
 
Sophomore Emily Anderson chipped in nine points and she drained a three-ball. She's currently third in three-point percentage in the CCC, shooting 39 percent. 
 
The Golden Bears limited Endicott's early chances, denying the paint and containing its shooters with crisp closeouts and ball denial. They scored 19 points off of Endicott's 12 giveaways.
 
The Golden Bears used a myriad of ways to score: knocking down the three-ball, utilizing its fast guards to push the ball and finding the bigs in the post. O'Neill beat her defender up court, using a crossover dribble and a hesitation move, then found Olson cutting to the basket. Olson gathered herself and scooped the ball between her defender to extend the Golden Bears' lead to 23-10 at 11:10 to go in the first half.
 
As 3.8 seconds remained on the clock--just before the first half endedâ€"Golden Bears had a chance to finish out the half strong. Sophomore Paige Young (3 points) set up Olson on the wing, where without hesitation, she drained her second three of the half at the buzzer.
 
Western New England shot a solid 53.1 percent from the field in the first half, on 17-of-32, while the Gulls hit 9-of-26 for 34.6 percent. The Golden Bears held a commanding 41-25 advantage at the break.
 
Following a quiet first half, the Gulls' offense caught fire early in the second half by going on an 8-0 run by working the ball around the perimeter and muscling their way inside. Endicott cut the deficit to eight points on a couple of occasions, but WNE didn't break.
 
Vujsâ€"who's leading the CCC in rebounding with 10.6 per gameâ€"extended the Golden Bears' lead, 54-39, when she caught a bounce pass from O'Neill and glided to the basket for a finger roll layup on the fast break.
 
The Golden Bears outrebounded the Gulls, 43-31, working hard on both glasses and converting 11 second-chance points. Besides Vujs, senior captain Sam McCann also had a good day rebounding the ball with nine boards. Cuddy had six rebounds for the Gulls, plus three assists, two blocked shots and three steals.
 
The Golden Bears concluded the game on a 15-4 run, locking up the Gulls' offense and controlling the game's tempo.

Western New England continued distributing the ball well with 21 assists on 23 made field goals.
 
Western New England squares off against Salve Regina on Tuesday in another CCC matchup at home.

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