SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 23, 2021) - After a weekend at the LaFrance Hospitality Tournament, the Golden Bears returned home to host the Warriors of Eastern Connecticut State University where the Golden Bears came up short 71-55.

Records:

• Eastern Connecticut State: 2-3
• Western New England: 2-4

How It Happened:

The Golden Bears won the opening tip-off but turned the ball over after Julia Quinn stepped out of bounds. Jenna Serrantino was fouled and made one of two free throw attempts to put the Warriors on the board first. Grace Fisher drew a foul and made one of two free throws. ECSU responded quickly with a three pointer on the wing from Julie Keckler assisted by Serrantino. WNE quickly answered with a field goal made by Shaina Cooney assisted by Fisher. Abby Garaban then stole the ball from Danielle O'Brien and found Quinn at the top of the key where she sank a three. The Warriors responded with a bucket from Aiyana Ward but Quinn would come back down the floor and make another jump shot to give the Golden Bears the lead 8-6. Serrantino made a layup at the 5:31 mark to tie the game at eight apiece before Keckler made a layup to give ECSU back the lead. Fisher fouled Serrantino for her second of the first half for Serrantino to make both free throws. At the 4:12 mark, Keckler found Anna Barry for two points to make the score 14-8. Garaban made a field goal to get WNE back within four. Two consecutive field goals from ECSU gave the Warriors the 18-10 lead forcing the Golden Bears into a timeout. After the timeout, Cooney made two baskets on back-to-back possessions to bring the Golden Bears back within four. Keckler made two consecutive layups to bring the lead back up to eight for the Warriors followed by Kya Mayo making a jump shot on the wing to bring ECSU's lead up to double digits with 17 seconds left in the quarter. WNE was unable to score in the last seconds of the quarter leaving the score at 24-14 going into the second.

The Warriors and Golden Bears both could not convert on their first possessions of the second quarter. Their second time down the court ECSU turned to Keckler again for two more points bumping the lead to 12. Another failed possession by WNE gave ECSU the ball back but they came up short. Quinn was fouled by Keckler on the floor giving WNE the chance for an inbound play. Quinn got the ball off the inbound at the elbow and sank another basket. Emma Kahn grabbed a defensive rebound but was stopped on offense by a traveling call. At the 6:10 mark, Emma Elrod grabbed an offensive rebound and laid the ball back in for her first points of the game. Barry found Keckner on the wing for a three with 4:53 remaining to make the score 29-18. Elrod was fouled at the other end by Ward and made 1 of 2 from the line. Ward answered for the Warriors drawing a foul at the other end sinking the shot and then made her free throw attempt. After a few uneventful possessions, Paige Brinkman blocked Keckler' s attempted layup. Sam Bodey fouled Serrantino at the 2:12 mark and she would make 1-of-2 from the line. A turnover from WNE gave the ball back to ECSU and Barry was fouled by Cooney where she went on to make one free throw. After almost four minutes without a score, Colleen Furlong made a field goal to make the score 36-21. Two free throws made by Serrantino put the score at 38-21 to end the half.

ECSU started the second half with the ball and O'Brien quickly found Serrantino for a two on the wing. Back on offense, Alexia Leon found Garaban for another made basket. Serrantino made another layup and drew a foul on Cooney. She missed her free throw and WNE pushed the ball back down the court where Fisher made a basket. After a failed possession by ECSU, Fisher made another basket to make the score 42-27. Cooney grabbed the defensive rebound on an Anna Barry missed shot and then made a layup at the other end after an offensive rebound. ECSU called a timeout and failed to get more points on the board following the break. Keckner sank another bucket at the 5:58 mark making her total for the night thus far 20 points. WNE missed on their next possession and O'Brien sunk a three on the wing in ECSU's next turn down the court. Fisher drew a foul and sunk both free throws, but O'Brien came back and hit another three making the score 50-31 in favor of the Warriors. After a missed shot from O'Brien, Ward grabbed the offensive rebound and made a layup to put the Warriors up by 21. A turnover from the Golden Bears gave the ball back to the Warriors and they turned to Taylor Salato to add two more points. After a WNE timeout, Furlong hit a jump shot at the elbow to end an ECSU run. The Warriors quickly responded with two more points of their own. Kahn found Allison Ingalls who would sink a three on the wing as the shot clock was winding down. Serrantino made a layup and drew a foul from Lindsay Orbann. Serrantino made the attempt from the line bringing her points total to 17. On their next possession, Orbann found Kahn who would sink a three making the score 59-39. These would be the last points from either team at the end of the third quarter.

Fisher started the fourth quarter drawing a foul but only made one shot at the line. Barry drew a blocking foul on Orbann, her second, and she made both shots at the line. Lindsey Carey grabbed two offensive rebounds on the next WNE possession and drew a foul on a layup attempt. She made one of two from the line. After a failed ECSU possession, Kahn drew a foul and made one of two from the line. Orbann drew her third foul when she fouled Martha Chatman leading to two made free throws. Furlong then made a layup to make the score 63-44. On their next possession, Emma Novajasky found Fisher making her scoring total 10 for the game. This would now mark Fisher's fourth straight game with double digit scoring figures. At the 5:04 mark, Kahn fouled Keckler who made two free throws. Kahn then was fouled on the other end and make one of two from the line. Caitlyn Hunt grabbed the offensive rebound on Kahn's missed shot and was fouled on her put back attempt. She made both free throws to make the score 67-49. Hunt grabbed another offensive rebound on the next possession and put it back in for two more points. After an ECSU timeout, the Warriors would fail to convert in their next possession. Keckler made a baseline jump shot with 2:19 left in the game to make it 69-51. An offensive foul called on Martha Chatman would give the ball back to WNE. Hunt then threw a dime to Ingalls underneath the basket for two points for the Golden Bears. Two free throws made by Jaclyn Santella would put the Warriors up 71-53. Caeli Fitzpatrick found Novajasky for two points with 32 seconds left to make the score 71-55. A turnover by WNE with 3 seconds left would be the last action in this game as the Warriors come out on top in a 16-point win over the Golden Bears.

Inside the Numbers:

• As a team, Western New England shot 39.6 percent from the floor, 25.0 percent from three, and 62.5 percent from the foul line while tallying 36 rebounds, 13 assists, two steals, and two blocks.
• Fisher led the Golden Bears with 10 points while recording two rebounds as well.
• Cooney was the next highest scorer for WNE with eight points and seven rebounds to lead the team on the boards.
• Quinn tallied seven points on the night while Furlong came off the bench to score six for the Golden Bears.

Up Next:

The Golden Bears return after the holiday to open conference play on the road at Curry on Wednesday, December 1 for a 5:30 p.m. tip.