NORTON, Mass. (November 11, 2023) – The Western New England women's basketball team came away with back-to-back wins at the Wheaton College tip-off tournament, including today's championship victory, defeating the Engineers of RPI by a final score of 60-50.
Records:
- Western New England: 2-1
- RPI: 2-1
How it Happened:
Lilly Hedge would score the opening bucket of the game for Western New England before RPI would come away with a 7-4 lead in just a minute of game play as the Engineers would quickly take momentum of the contest. Western New England would quickly stop the run from RPI and go on a mini-6-0 run of their own when
Abby Garaban contributed for four points while
Sophie Hedge dished an assist and grabbed a jumper to put WNE ahead 10-7. Western New England would close the quarter with the final four points, including a
Lindsey Carey layup just before the first quarter horn, as the Golden Bears came away with a 20-14 lead after one.
RPI would get within four points twice early in the second quarter before the Golden Bears would come around and score 11 of 13 points in the game to take a commanding lead in the game.
Emma Novajasky,
Sophie Hedge, and Lindsay Carey would help the Golden Bears on the offensive end, while strong defense from the blue and gold would help hold RPI to just ten points in the second quarter.
Abby Garaban would set up
Tara Laugeni with the final score of the half on a jump shot from just inside the key as the Golden Bears took an 11-point lead after one half of play, leading 35-24.
Western New England would hold RPI to just nine points in the fourth quarter, while Lindsay Carey would grab four early points to put WNE ahead 39-27. The Golden Bears would take their biggest lead of the game at 16 points with 3:13 to play in the third quarter when
Emma Novajasky sank a three-point shot. RPI would get those three points back and would grab a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the third quarter, as the Golden Bears would still lead RPi by a score of 46-33.
With the Golden Bears looking to close out the game and win the mini-tournament,
Lilly Hedge would knock down two free throws, putting the Golden Bears ahead 52-35. RPI would go on a stretch run to cut WNE's 17-point lead to just an eight-point lead, though it would be too late as
Abby Garaban would sink the final points of the night for WNE as the Golden Bears would come away with a 60-50 win to win the Wheaton College tip-off tournament.
Inside the Lines:
- Abby Garaban led the scoring for Western New England, shooting 6/10 from the field, grabbing 15 points. The graduate student also ripped down eight rebounds while dishing out three assists.
- Lilly Hedge scored in double figures, scoring seven of her 11 points from the free throw line on the night.
- The WNE bench scored 21 points in the game, while the Golden Bears recorded nine past-break points and 26 points in the paint.
- This is just the second meeting between the two teams, with WNE having the upper hand in both games, scoring 60+ points on RPI on both occasions.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- WNE will host their own tip-off tournament on Friday, November 17 and Saturday, November 18. WNE, Keystone College, Salve Regina University, and Vassar College will be involved in the tournament.
