SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 23, 2024) – The Western New England women's basketball team saw themselves trail by as many as 12 in the game to the 2022-2023 CCC Champion Roger Williams University Hawks before getting a spark from junior Emma Novajasky off the bench, knocking down a clutch three in the final minute of the game to lead the Golden Bears to their first win over the Hawks in eight tries, 47-46.

Records:

• Western New England: 14-4, 8-2 CCC
• Roger Williams University: 11-7, 7-3 CCC

How it Happened:

The low-scoring affair would start off with a bucket by the Hawks when Chloe Richardson opened the game with a driving layup to get the Hawks up early. Shaina Cooney would work down low to open the scoring for the Golden Bears to even the scoring. WNE took their first of two leads in the first half on a jumper from Colleen Furlong with 7:10 remaining, giving WNE a 4-3 lead. Roger Williams would take a four-point lead with 3:14 to play when the Hawks leading scorer in the game, Sophia Coppola, drove to the hoop to score a layup, giving RWU a 9-5 lead. Western New England would mount a comeback after Emma Novajasky canned a three-ball while Paige Winter stuck both free throws, seeing the Golden Bears down by one. That one-point deficit would last for a minute and thirty seconds before Novajaskywas back on the scoreboard with a layup, giving the junior five points in the opening quarter. The Hawks would connect on a pair of free throws in the last ten seconds of the first quarter to take a one-point lead over WNE, 13-12, after one quarter of play.

The Golden Bears would collect just four points in the second quarter, seeing Roger Williams hold the lead for the entirety of the second ten minutes of play. The first ten points of the quarter belonged to the Hawks, as Western New England would not be able to score until the 1:34 mark of the second quarter, when Tara Laugeni got the blue and gold on the scoreboard, trailing by nine. Lilly Hedge scored the only other field goal for Western New England in the quarter, beating the buzzer on a jumper from the free throw line, sending the Hawks to a 25-16 lead after two quarters of play. WNE shot 13% from the field and made just six first-half field goals. RWU made just nine field goals, though they shot a tick under 50% from the field.

Emma Kahn got the Golden Bears off and running to start the third quarter, connecting on a three-ball, sinking WNE's deficit to six points. Roger Williams quickly went on a 5-0 run when Coppola and Richardson connected on a field goals for the Hawks, taking a 30-19 lead. Western New England would only be able to get within nine points of a tie after Shaina Cooney found a lane and scored a layup with 5:57 to play while Emma Novajasky dropped RWU's 11-point lead with a made layup in the paint. The Golden Bears would see the Hawks take a 10-point lead after three quarters of play. The Golden Bears would need a strong push to get past the pesky Hawks.

After a back-and-forth opening to the fourth quarter, seeing both WNE and RWU earn buckets, the Golden Bears would go on a mini 7-1 run, seeing Emma Novajasky drop five of those seven points, including a three with 4:41 to go to get Western New England within four points, their smallest deficit since the early stages of the second quarter. Western New England would take a time out with 2:55 to play and would execute a play drawn up for sharpshooter Paige Winter, who cashed in a three to get WNE within one point. Roger Williams' Katie Galligan would drive to the paint and get a layup for the Hawks, pushing Roger Williams' lead to three with 1:11 to play. After Shaina Cooney would get a feed from Tara Laugeni to answer the Hawks layup, Paige Winter would grab a steal after RWU's Galligan would fumble the basketball, giving the Golden Bears a chance to take their first lead of the game since the score was 12-11 in the first quarter. Western New England would not miss their opportunity to take the lead, as Shaina Cooney would dribble off the ball and find Emma Novajasky in the corner, who knocked down the triple with 23 seconds to give WNE a 45-43 lead. WNE would make a stand of defense with Erin Reen grabbing an important defensive rebound, still leading by two heading to the free throw line. After Reen would not be able to capitalize on either shot, an offensive rebound by Tara Laugeni would force RWU to foul again, sending Reen to the line where, this time, the sophomore canned a pair of shots to put Western New England ahead 47-43. Roger's Sophia Coopola would hit a three as time expired, though the horn would sound with Western New England coming away with a massive 47-46 win to take the top spot in the CCC standings, becoming the lone squad with an 8-2 record in CCC play.

Inside the Lines:

• Emma Novajasky's career night, 17 points and 3/4 from three, helped WNE defeat Roger Williams for the first time in eight tries.
• WNE last defeated RWU in 2019.
• Despite shooting under 30% from the field, Western New England finished 3/7 from three-point range in the fourth quarter to help sail their way to victory.
• WNE left ten points on the free throw line, converting just 12/22 attempts. RWU missed nine free throws, shooting 11/20.
• Lilly Hedge grabbed 12 rebounds in the game to lead all players, while WNE outrebounded RWU 42-31.
• Both teams converted 18 turnovers in the game.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears remain at home to take on Nichols College on Saturday, January 27 at 1:00 p.m.