BIDDEFORD, Maine (January 20, 2024) - The Western New England women's basketball team saw themselves trailing by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter until a huge 13-2 run would flip the script while a late defensive stand would give the Golden Bears a 54-52 victory over the hosting University of New England on Saturday afternoon.

Records:

• Western New England: 13-4, 7-2 CCC
• University of New England: 11-6, 6-3 CCC

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears and Nor'easters would both grab ten points in the opening quarter, with Tara Laugeni knocking down the opening free throw of the game to get the Golden Bears on the scoreboard. Western New England jetted out to an early 3-0 lead after Shaina Cooney made a spin move to find the nylon on a layup. UNE would climb back quickly with a three-ball to even the score when Jordyn Franzen connected from deep. UNE took their first lead at 7-5 with 6:31 to play in the opening quarter when Juliana Tracey found nets. The Golden Bears would come away with just three points in the final 5:43 of the quarter, with Tara Laugeni and Emma Novajasky recording points for the Golden Bears. Franzen would knock down the final jumper of the quarter to even the score at ten after the first ten minutes of play. Both teams came away with four field goals in the quarter.

The offense would come alive in the second quarter for both teams, though neither team would take greater than a six-point lead through the first half. UNE would take that six-point lead after scoring three straight hoops to open the second quarter and go up 16-10. Emma Novajasky helped Western New England stop the run when Lilly Hedge made a pass to the junior, who rattled in a jumper to get WNE their first basket of the quarter. Western New England would erase the six-point deficit when Paige Winter dialed up a three-ball with 5:14 to play in the quarter, giving Western New England a one-point lead. WNE started the game 0/8 from distance before the connection by Winter. UNE would quickly take their lead back and would go up by five points when Grace Boucher and Gabby Soter each scored for the Nor'easters. Again, the Golden Bears would battle back, with Colleen Furlong hitting all net on a three-point shot with 2:02 to play, giving the Nor'easters just a one-point lead at the break, 26-25. Western New England drained three three-balls in the second quarter, while UNE had their most productive quarter of the game, shooting 7/16 from the field.

After Shaina Cooney opened the third quarter with a bucket to give the Golden Bears the lead, UNE would come out and take that lead right back when Franzen and Kaylee Beyor drove to the hoop to score. Tara Laugeni would score back-to-back buckets on back-to-back possessions for the Golden Bears to give WNE a one-point lead. UNE would have the answers late in the third quarter, as the home team would end the third on a 7-0 run to take a six-point lead after 45 minutes of play. Faye Veilleux would knock down four free throws down the stretch to help put the Nor'easters ahead. UNE outscored Western New England 13-8 in the quarter.

With the game looming in the balance of the fourth quarter, UNE would take their largest lead of the game at eight points with their first possession of the game when Beyor cashed in on a pair of free throws. The Golden Bears would fight back, seeing Shaina Cooney, Emma Novajasky, and Paige Winter connect on shots, with Winter's three-ball sending Western New England down by one. Winter would capitalize from distance again with still 7:14 to play in the quarter to even the score at 43. Following that three, WNE would go on an 8-0 run after Emma Kahn grabbed five points of her own to put the Golden Bears ahead 48-43 with five minutes to play. UNE would come back to tie the game with 3:39 to play after Veilleux hit the game-tying jumper. After over a minute of no scoring, Tara Laugeni would put the Golden Bears ahead by two with two minutes left on a bank shot jumper in the paint and a foul. After a missed free throw, Shaina Cooney would grab an offensive rebound, and the Golden Bears would use their extra possession to dial up a three-ball from Emma Kahn with 1:39 left, giving the Golden Bears a 53-48 lead. As they did all afternoon long, UNE would get within one point with 50 seconds left when Franzen nailed a jumper. The Golden Bears would hold off a chance by Vellieux to give UNE the lead with four seconds left, while Emma Kahn would grab the missed shot rebound and get fouled with 1.6 seconds remaining. Kahn would hit one free throw while the Golden Bears would go down the court and make a defensive stand to hold off the Nor'easters by a final score of 54-52.

Inside the Lines:

• Western New England's Paige Winter led all Golden Bears in scoring, knocking down four threes, collecting 12 points on 4/7 shooting, while grabbing four rebounds and five assists.
• Shaina Cooney put together her fourth double-double of the season, scoring ten points while grabbing 11 rebounds in the win.
• Emma Kahn contributed 11 points, including a big three late in the game, to help sail Western New England to victory.
• Jordyn Franzen led all scorers, dropping 23 points for UNE on 9/19 shooting.
• Western New England shot 40% from the field and knocked down seven threes. UNE shot 35% from the field while hitting five threes.
• WNE sweeps the regular-season series against the Nor'easters for the first time since the 2019–2020 season.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will battle for first place on home court on Tuesday, January 23 at 5:30 p.m., welcoming Roger Williams University to the Alumni Healthful Living Center.