Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. (November 19, 2024) – The Western New England women's basketball team outscored the hosting Warriors of Eastern Connecticut State University 29-3 in bench points, led by graduate student Nora Young, who had a season-high 15 points on 5/7 shooting, while senior Shaina Cooney picked up an additional 14 points for WNE, also a season-high, leading the Golden Bears past the Warriors by a final score of 63-54.

Records:

• Western New England: 3-0
• Eastern Connecticut State University: 0-4

How it Happened:

A slow start for the two teams opened the first two minutes of the first quarter with no scoring on the board. Western New England made their first bucket of the game with 7:57 to go in the first quarter when Emma Novajasky put the Golden Bears ahead. The WNE scoring continued after Eastern dropped their first hoop of the game as Shaina Cooney collected her first layup, putting WNE ahead by two again. Cooney collected the next six points overall for the Golden Bears as Western New England quickly went ahead 8-2 on the road. Nora Young increased Western New England's lead with a pair of free throws and a layup on an assist from Caitlyn Hunt, putting the Golden Bears ahead 12-5, which is how the quarter ended. Eastern Connecticut shot just 2/17 from the field in the opening frame, while the Golden Bears made five field goals overall to start the game.

Scoring picked up in the second quarter for both teams. WNE's Caitlyn Hunt notched the first two points of the frame, giving the Golden Bears their largest lead of the game at nine, a 14-5 lead. Emma Novajasky gave the Golden Bears their first double-digit lead of the game at 18-7 with 7:25 to play in the quarter. Eastern's Kya Mayo got the Warriors back within eight after scoring a layup and dropping a foul shot, giving ECSU ten points for the game. The Warriors got back within five points as Taylor Salato began to heat up from the floor, which put the Warriors behind by five, 18-13, part of a 7-0 run for ECSU. Novajasky ended Eastern Connecticut's run with a three-pointer at the midway point of the second quarter on an assist from Lilly Hedge, putting WNE ahead by eight again. The Golden Bears were sparked by a three-point play from Perry Blasetti, who picked up a layup and a foul, while Colleen Furlong got on the board with a layup of her own, extending WNE's lead back to double figures, 27-17. Blasetti connected from three with just over a minute to play in the second quarter, which was the final bucket of the frame, giving Western New England a 30-18 lead at the end of the first half. WNE shot 7/17 in the second quarter, going 2/4 from deep, while out rebounding the Warriors 12-7 and grabbing five offensive rebounds overall.

Eastern Connecticut started the third quarter on a quick 4-0 run, getting a layup from Marissa Nudd and a pair of free throws from Liv Cassesse, which got the Warriors within eight points. Scoring continued for Cassesse, but not before Sophie Hedge cashed in from three on an assist from Nora Young. WNE maintained their lead as the two teams combined for 18 points in the first 3:30 of the quarter, with WNE taking a 37-29 lead. Shaina Cooney picked up a quick four points for Western New England to go into double figures, with 11 points overall, giving WNE a 39-31 lead. WNE picked up their largest lead of the game at 14 points when Paige Winter connected from three on an assist from Erin Reen, giving the Golden Bears a 48-34 lead. Eastern Connecticut ended the third quarter on a quick 5-0 run that dipped WNE's lead down to nine after 30 minutes of play. Eastern Connecticut poured in 21 points in the third quarter on 8/14 shooting. The Golden Bears picked up 18 points in the frame, shooting 7/15 from the floor.

WNE began to pull away in the fourth quarter to secure their third win of the season. Lilly Hedge and Shaina Cooney picked up the first four points for WNE in the fourth as Western New England went on a quick 6-2 run to open the frame. WNE's lead continued to grow when Emma Kahn picked up her first two points of the night, giving the Golden Bears a 60-46 lead, a 14-point advantage, their largest of the game, with 4:42 to play. The Warriors fought to get back into the game, scoring the next six points to cut Western New England's lead down to eight again. Eastern's Taylor Salato continued her offensive efforts with 23 points on the night, though a free throw from WNE's Nora Young iced the game, keeping WNE undefeated as the graduate student put up a season-high 15 points to earn the Golden Bears a 63-54 victory.

Inside the Lines:

• Coming off the bench, graduate student Nora Young put up 15 points for the Golden Bears on 5/7 shooting while connecting on 5/8 free throws to lead WNE in scoring. Young also collected seven rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block in the win.
• Shaina Cooney picked up 14 points on the night for WNE, a season-best. The WNE senior shot 6/15 from the floor while grabbing seven rebounds, one block, and one steal.
• The Golden Bears outrebounded Eastern Connecticut 41-33. Overall, Western New England shot 39% from the field.
• WNE held the lead for nearly 96% of the game and was sparked by their bench, which outscored Eastern's bench 29-3.
• Western New England shot 50% from the field in the fourth quarter.
• Lilly Hedge collected six points, three blocks, three assists, and seven rebounds overall.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England welcomes the University of Saint Joseph's (Conn.), Wesleyan University, and SUNY Geneseo to the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center for the Hampton Inn Holiday Classic on both Saturday, November 23, and Sunday, November 24. WNE will take on USJ on Saturday at 4:00 PM.