SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (December 2, 2023) Western New England graduate student Tara Laugeni notched her 1,000^thcareer point in her collegiate career, finishing with 11 points on the afternoon while fellow graduate student Abby Garaban shot 8/9 from the floor, dropping 23 points in a triumphant 80-61 victory over the Nor'easters of the University of New England.

Records:

• Western New England: 5-3, 1-1 CCC
• University of New England: 5-3, 1-1 CCC

How it Happened:
Western New England came out scoring in the opening quarter, scoring eight of the game's first nine points. Abby Garaban would quickly grab three points, hitting a layup, followed by a good free throw, to get Western New England ahead early. Garaban would collect the first five points for the Golden Bears before Shaina Cooney would grab the next three. UNE would not go away easily, as Faye Veilleux and Jordy Franzen would be all over the scoresheet on the afternoon for the Nor'easters. Tara Laugeni would need six points in the contest to reach her 1,000^th career point in her career, with 946 points coming while a member of the Endicott College women's basketball team. The Woodbridge, Connecticut, native started the first quarter with her first bucket of the game to extend Western New England's lead to seven, at 14-7. Emma Novajaksy would rain in a three from distance, giving Western New England an eight-point lead. No scoring would happen from 2:53 on in the first, as the Golden Bears came away with a 17-11 lead after ten minutes of play.

UNE would come away with their first lead in the early goings of the second quarter as Franzen and the Nor'easters would go up by a point with the Golden Bears stuffed without a bucket for the first 3:30 of the second quarter. Abby Garaban would break that spell with a three-point shot to get Western New England back ahead, 20-19. From there, the Golden Bears would go on an 18-4 run to close the second quarter and lead by 12 at the break. Lilly Hedge, Paige Winter, and Tara Laugeni would all make impacts on the court for the Golden Bears, with Laugeni needing just two points in the second half to accomplish the feat of 1,000 career points.

Shaina Cooney and Lilly Hedge would come out firing for Western New England in the third quarter to give WNE their largest lead of the game at 16 points. UNE would cut that lead in half with five minutes remaining in the third quarter when Juliana Tracy connected on one free throw attempt, followed by a three-point shot after WNE took an 11-point lead again. UNE could not cut into Western New England's lead any more than eight points in the third quarter, while WNE would close the quarter on a 6-0 run on made buckets from Lindsey Carey and Caitlyn Hunt, giving the blue and gold a 57-42 lead after three quarters of play.

Western New England would open the fourth quarter with the 1,000th career point by Tara Laugeni after Caitlyn Hunt would find the graduate student all alone down low as Laugeni would bank home a layup and get fouled to celebrate her 1,000^th career point. The Golden Bears would not let UNE back into the game, holding a double-digit lead throughout the fourth quarter to defeat the Nor'easters for the first time since 2020. Colleen Furlong would knock down a pair of free throws to go up by 20, giving Western New England their largest lead of the quarter. The fourth quarter would see Abby Garaban score eight of her career-high 23 points on the afternoon as the Golden Bears would come away with a thrilling victory by a final score of 80-61. Western New England has not defeated UNE by double digits since 2017.

Inside the Lines:

• Tara Laugeni scored her 1,000^th career point in the win, now totaling 59 points with Western New England, scoring 11 points in the win on 5/11 shooting while pulling down four rebounds, grabbing three assists, and swatting two blocked shots.
• Graduate student Abby Garaban scored a career-high 23 points on the afternoon in 32 minutes played. The Maplewood, New Jersey, native shot 8/9 from the field, including 2/2 from distance, while grabbing six rebounds and four assists.
• Lilly Hedge also finished with double digits in scoring, collecting ten points on 4/6 shooting.
• Western New England forced 16 UNE turnovers in the win.
• The Golden Bears had previously lost six straight at the hands of the Nor'easters, three of which came in overtime.
• Jordyn Franzen led UNE with 17 points while snatching nine rebounds, a block, and a steal.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will continue CCC play on Tuesday, December 5 at 5:30 PM, traveling to Nichols College.