BOSTON, Mass. (January 31, 2024) – After leading by as many as ten points in the second half, the Western New England women's basketball team saw the hosting Rams of Suffolk University race all the way back and steal a Commonwealth Coast Conference game on Wednesday night, dropping Western New England out of sole possession of the top spot in the CCC standings.

Records:

• Western New England: 15-5, 9-3 CCC
• Suffolk University: 15-5, 9-3 CCC

How it Happened:

Looking to maintain first place in the CCC standings, the Western New England women's basketball team looked for a repeat performance of Saturday's win over Nichols and turn that into a win against Suffolk on Wednesday. Shaina Cooney opened Western New England with their first hoop of the game after Suffolk dropped a three-ball to open the scoring in the game. Cooney would give the Golden Bears their first lead at 7-6 after WNE fell behind 6-2 early but quickly stormed back with an Emma Kahn three. The two teams would struggle to find offense in the first half, with Suffolk leading 12-10 after the first quarter of play. WNE made just four field goals in the quarter, while Suffolk dropped just five.

Western New England would take control of the offense in the second quarter, scoring 18 of the 27 points recorded. Caitlyn Hunt erased the Suffolk first quarter lead with a layup to score WNE's first bucket of the second quarter, while Emma Kahn put WNE ahead by three with a triple with 7:50 remaining. Suffolk would come back and tie the game at 15 and would take their only lead of the second quarter on two made free throws from their leading scorer, Amanda DeAngelis, before the Golden Bears would make a run to end the quarter. After being down 21-18, WNE would take a 28-21 lead at the end of the quarter, getting production from Tara Laugeni, Paige Winter, and a three-ball at the buzzer from Emma Novajasky as Western New England took a seven-point lead at the break. The Golden Bears held Suffolk to just two field goals in the quarter, shooting 1/8 from three, while Western New England came alive in the late stages of the quarter, knocking down seven total field goals in the second quarter.

Emma Novajasky would open the third quarter with a deep three on an assist from Lilly Hedge to give Western New England their first double-digit lead of the game. Lilly Hedge's jumper with 7:31 to play in the third quarter would maintain the double-digit lead for the Golden Bears, though Suffolk would come alive on offense following the hoop for the Golden Bears, going on a 7-0 run to cut the ten-point lead down to just three points in 2:06 of play time. Tara Laugeni ended the scoring run for Suffolk, though the Rams ended the third quarter on a 7-2 run, which included a three with 13 seconds left for Madi Mahoney, giving Suffolk the two-point lead after 30 minutes of play. Suffolk hit both three-point shots in the quarter and collected seven total field goals in the frame, shooting just under 50% from the field. The Rams outscored the Golden Bears 21-12 in the quarter.

Western New England looked for an offensive answer to begin the fourth quarter, getting a bucket on their first possession of the quarter when Shaina Cooney got to the paint and scored with the right hand to tie the game at 42. The Golden Bears would see Suffolk take the lead after that and hold the lead for the remainder of the game after Jordan Moreau knocked down a three, followed by a DeAngelis layup as Suffolk would continue to find offensive momentum. With 3:48 remaining, Suffolk's Allison Bono extended their lead to 11 points at 55-44, grabbing a double-digit lead on a layup. Western New England would not be able to come away with a comeback, seeing just Shaina Cooney, Emma Novajasky, and Paige Winter collect points in the quarter as Suffolk would outscore the Golden Bears 24-13 in the quarter and take the win by a final score of 66-53.

Inside the Numbers:

• WNE shot just 30% from the field as a team, making just 11 field goals in the second half. WNE's Shaina Cooney led the way, grabbing her sixth double-double of the season, scoring 12 points while grabbing 15 rebounds.
• Emma Novajasky connected on her first three three-point shots, finishing with 12 points on the night and collecting her third straight game in double figures.
• The Golden Bears got to the free throw line just three times in the game. Suffolk went to the line 20 times and scored 18 of the 20 free throws.
• Amanda DeAngelis recorded 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Rams.
• The Golden Bears fall to Suffolk, ending their four-game win streak over the Rams.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England returns home to host Curry College on Saturday, February 3 at 1:00 pm for senior day.