WESTFIELD, Mass. (December 9, 2023) – The Western New England women's basketball team took down their final non-conference opponent of the season, defeating Westfield State University on the road on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 80-63.
Shaina Cooney,
Lindsey Carey, and
Caitlyn Hunt recorded double-figures in points to pace the Golden Bears to victory.
Records:
- Western New England: 7-3
- Westfield State University: 4-5
How it Happened:
A quick 6-0 run for the hosts would put the Owls ahead 6-0 early before free throws were sunk by WNE's
Shaina Cooney just two minutes into the game to stop the scoring run for the Owls. A low-scoring opening quarter would see the Golden Bears answer back with an 11-0 run as Colleen Furling,
Tara Laugeni, and
Emma Kahn would score for the Golden Bears to lead 11-6 with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Westfield State would come back to tie the game and answer with a three-point shot when Morgan Berthiaume cashed in for the Owls. The duo of
Lindsey Carey and Caitlin Hunt would combine for Western New England's final seven points in the quarter to take a 19-13 lead after ten minutes of play.
Lilly Hedge would notch Western New England's first basket of the second quarter, a layup, to get the Golden Bears rolling.
Emma Kahn cashed a three as the Golden Bears took an early nine-point lead. A span of three minutes would go by with no scoring before
Lindsey Carey connected on a triple to give Western New England their first double-digit lead of the afternoon. WNE would continue to dominate from inside and outside of the arc before Westfield State would close the gap to end the half as Western New England would take a 31-26 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Tara Laugeni connected on a layup for the Golden Bears to start the scoring, while
Shaina Cooney would grab the next five points to put Western New England ahead 38-26. Westfield, Massachusetts native Oliva Hadla would end WNE's double-digit, splashing a three with seven minutes left as WNE would lead 40-32. From there, the Golden Bears would get started again to reclaim their double-digit lead when
Lilly Hedge dropped a jumper and
Lindsey Carey would dial up a three-ball to give WNE a 13-point lead. Caitlin Hunt would give Western New England their largest lead of the game at 19 points with 3:33 to play, taking a 51-32 lead. The Golden Bears would get a buzzer-beating jumper from
Lindsey Carey to end the third quarter, giving the blue and gold a 59-42 lead after three quarters of play.
The teams would even out the score in the final quarter of play, both dropping 21 points as the Golden Bears would go on to take the non-conference victory.
Shaina Cooney made Western New England's first bucket of the quarter, while
Emma Kahn would drop her third three ball of the game, as Western New England would splash six threes in the game. Western New England would hold a 20+ point lead multiple times in the quarter, though would end with a 17-point victory, defeating Westfield State by a final score of 80-63.
Inside the Box:
- Shaina Cooney put together 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Golden Bears in both of those categories. Lindsey Carey sank two three-balls and totaled 15 points on the day, while Caitlin Hunt recorded 13 points on 5/6 shooting, also notching double figures.
- Emma Kahn connected on three three-point attempts, scoring all of her points that way.
- WNE outrebounded Westfield State 50-29 in the win.
- The Golden Bears defeated the Owls for the first time away from home since 2018.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- The Golden Bears will return from the holiday break with a conference contest on Tuesday, January 2, at 5:30 PM, hosting Wentworth.
