WENHAM, Mass. (December 2, 2015) - Senior forward Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) led four Golden Bears in double-figures with a game-high 18 points as the Western New England University women's basketball team cruised to a 75-45 victory over Gordon College in its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener this evening at the Bennett Center.
 
Leading 37-24 at halftime, Western New England broke the game open with a 14-0 run over the final 4:52 of the third quarter, powered by ten points from Vujs. The Golden Bears limited the Fighting Scots to 29.6 percent (8-of-27) shooting in the second half, and scored 35 points off 27 Gordon turnovers in the game.
 
Vujs shot 7-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-2 from three-point range, and knocked down 3-of-5 attempts from the charity stripe en route to her 18-point effort. The senior is now just 14 points shy of 1000 for her career (986) after entering tonight's action with 968. Freshman forward Allison Mishol (Longmeadow, Mass.), who was named the CCC Rookie of the Week last Monday, turned in her first career double-double with ten points and a game-high 11 rebounds in just 19 minutes off the bench. Mishol made all four of her shots, including two from beyond the arc, and also contributed defensively with three steals.
 
Sophomore guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished with 13 points, a career-high matching six assists and four rebounds, while junior forward Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) rounded out Western New England's four double-digit scorers with 12 points. Freshman guard Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) also made a significant impact in 21 minutes off the bench, chipping in with five points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Overall, 11 different Golden Bears scored, with six recording at least five points.
 
Sophomore Kristen Smith (Littleton, Mass.) and freshman Jamie Tafoya (Fort Collins, Colo.) paced the Gordon offense, finishing with 12 points each. Smith also led the Fighting Scots in both rebounds (nine) and assists (five), while Tafoya added six boards.
 
Gordon led by three (11-8) following a layup by freshman Kaelyn Hall (Sugar Land, Tex.) 4:34 into the game, before Mishol scored the next five points to give the Golden Bears a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Fighting Scots trailed 16-14 after senior Olivia Vetere (Mahopac, N.Y.) connected on a three-pointer with 3:13 left in the opening quarter, but Mishol answered with a trey on the other end as Western New England closed the quarter on a 9-2 run.
 
Gordon fought back, however, scoring the first eight points of the second quarter to pull back to within one (25-24) after Tafoya converted a layup at the 6:24 mark. O'Neill broke the Western New England scoring drought with a jumper just over a minute later, as the Golden Bears posted a 12-0 run over the final 5:19 of the quarter to open up a 13-point lead at the break.
 
Western New England continued to roll in the second half, leading by 26 (56-30) after three quarters en route to the 30-point road triumph. The Golden Bears shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) for the game, including 52 percent (13-of-25) in the second half.
 
Western New England (3-3, 1-0 CCC) returns home on Saturday for a showdown with three-time defending CCC champion the University of New England, which is currently ranked No. 10 in the D3hoops.com Top-25. Opening tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Alumni Healthful Living Center. Gordon (3-3, 0-1 CCC) will look to snap its three-game skid on Saturday at Roger Williams University.