SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 14, 2016) - The Western New England University women's basketball team opened up a 14-point halftime advantage and led by as many as 25 in the fourth quarter on its way to a dominant 70-49 victory over visiting Salve Regina University this evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
 
Sophomore guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the way for the Golden Bears, scoring a game-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while connecting on 1-of-2 three-point attempts and 4-of-4 free throws to go with three assists. Senior Amanda Lopez (Windsor, Conn.) and freshman Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) paced the Western New England reserves with eight points each, and senior forward Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Junior guard Sammie Olson (Tolland, Conn.) also chipped in with a seven-point effort as six different Golden Bears had at least five points and 12 total players scored.   
 
Western New England never trailed in the game, shooting 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the field and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the free throw line in the first half en route to a 38-24 lead at the break. O'Neill led the Golden Bears with nine points over the opening 20 minutes of action, including seven in the second quarter as the home team stretched its lead from nine (20-11) to 14 (38-24).
 
Western New England didn't let up in the second half, maintaining at least a 14-point cushion for the first seven minutes of the third quarter before using a 9-0 run late to go up 22 (57-35). O'Neill sparked the run with a pair of free throws and then recorded a steal on the other end before assisting on a layup by Vujs.
 
Salve Regina was able to cut its deficit to 17 (59-42) at the 8:28 mark of the fourth quarter but got no closer, as the Golden Bears posted a 10-2 run over the next six minutes to open up their largest lead of the game (69-44). Western New England's eventual 21-point triumph was its fourth 20+ point victory in conference play so far this season.
 
The Golden Bears posted their best free throw shooting performance thus far in the 2015-16 campaign, going a combined 20-of-25 (80%) from the charity stripe. Western New England's stingy defense limited the Seahawks to a 40.8 percent (20-of-49) shooting clip, including 7.7 percent (1-of-13) from three-point range, and forced 18 turnovers that led to 20 points.
 
Senior Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) and junior Jillian Woodward (Orono, Maine) finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively, to lead Salve Regina, while Harden handed out a game-high five assists and Woodward grabbed a team-best seven boards.
 
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England (8-6, 5-2 CCC) hits the road to take on Eastern Nazarene, and Salve Regina (4-10, 3-4 CCC) returns home to host Wentworth