NORTON, Mass. (November 10, 2023) – The Western New England women's basketball team took down the Raiders of Rivier University on Friday evening in the Wheaton College tip-off tournament to advance to Saturday's championship game as the Golden Bears picked up their first win of the season.

• Western New England: 1-1
• Rivier University: 1-1

How it Happened:
A quick start for the Raiders saw Rivier grab an early 5-0 lead before the Golden Bears took over the first quarter of play. Emma Kahn grabbed the opening points for the Golden Bears, while Tara Laugeni and Lilly Hedge would give Western New England their first lead of the game. Shaina Cooney would begin to dominate on the offensive end for the Golden Bears, scoring four WNE points quickly to send the Golden Bears ahead by six. Lindsey Carey dropped the final points in the quarter for Western New England as the Golden Bears took a 21-9 lead after 15 minutes of play.

Rivier grabbed the first four points in the second quarter to cut WNE's lead to eight before the Golden Bears would turn it on for a 6-0 run when Tara Laugeni, Abby Garaban, and Lilly Hedge recorded points to give WNE a 27-13 lead with six minutes to play in the second. WNE would close out the second quarter with six quick points when Shaina Cooney and Lindsey Carey continued to be dominant for Western New England on the offensive end, as the Golden Bears would take a 16-point lead at the break, leading 38-22.

Rivier would come out and outscore Western New England in the third quarter by three points, grabbing 18 points, their largest total of the game in a quarter. Western New England would lead by as many as 18 points in the third quarter before Rivier would get within nine points of the lead with 4:02 to play. Shaina Cooney would stop the run for the Raiders, scoring a layup for the Golden Bears on an assist from Colleen Furlong. WNE would take a 16-point lead with a 7-0 run when Cooney continued to dominate. WNE would take a 53-40 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Rivier would come out and cut Western New England's lead to six when Rachel Guinn knocked down a triple, as Western New England would see their lead drop to 55-49. A response would come from Lindsey Carey on a made jumper to give Western New England an eight-point lead. Rivier would score just two points down the stretch as Western New England would continue to get offensive power from Shaina Cooney, who finished the night with 25 points, a career high, while grabbing 12 rebounds to lead Western New England to a 67-53 win.

Inside the Lines:

• Western New England shot 41% from the field without making a three-point shot in the game.
• The Golden Bears saw Shaina Cooney and Lindsey Carey grab double figures in points, combining for 39 of the 67 points for WNE.
• Colleen Furlong made five assists to lead the Golden Bears.
• Rivier committed 18 turnovers, while Lyric Grumblatt recorded seven of those turnovers, though contributed 24 points.
• WNE outscored Rivier 21-9 in the first quarter to pace themselves to victory.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England plays in the championship game of the Wheaton College tip-off tournament, playing RPI, who defeated Wheaton in the first game of the night. The game will be played at 3:00 p.m.