SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 23, 2024) – The Western New England women's basketball team picked up six of their own in double figures in scoring on Saturday evening to come away with an 82-63 victory over the Blue Jays of the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) in the Hampton Inn Holiday Classic. Shaina Cooney, Lilly Hedge, Sophie Hedge, Nora Young, and Emma Novajasky all led the way for WNE.

Records:

• Western New England: 4-0
• University of Saint Joseph: 1-1

How it Happened:

A red-hot start for Western New England would see the Golden Bears come up with a quick 10-2 lead with 6:26 to play in the first quarter. Emma Novajasky put up a quick six points for the Golden Bears, while Lilly Hedge was on the scoreboard for four quick points that would give WNE the lead. Western New England would continue to find ways to score against a tough Blue Jays squad as Shaina Cooney would join the scoring train with 2:42 to play in the quarter, giving Western New England a nine-point lead, 16-7. WNE was not done there, adding ten points in the final 2:15 of the frame to lead by 12 after one quarter. Sophie Hedge would pick up four points, while Nora Young had the final six for the blue and gold in the frame. WNE shot 11/17 from the field in the first quarter, while USJ was just 5/15.

The Blue Jays opened the second quarter with a quick 6-0 run to drop Western New England's lead to six. Maya Slisz would fire up points for the University of Saint Joseph that would dip WNE's lead. A three-minute span of no scoring for the Golden Bears would be ended by Perry Blasetti, who launched a three on a pass from Emma Kahn, giving the Golden Bears a nine-point lead again, 31-22. Shaina Cooney and Sophie Hedge continued the scoring for WNE while the Blue Jays would again put a small run together that would again get Western New England's lead down to just six. WNE would close out the half with a layup for Nora Young, while Shaina Cooney would be the buzzer to end the half to give Western New England a 42-32 first half lead. WNE was 60% from the field in the second quarter, shooting 6/10 overall.

The two teams would trade buckets to open the third quarter, as Cooney had the first four points for the Golden Bears, followed by a layup from Lilly Hedge. WNE's lead would get to as many as 12 before USJ would bring it back down to eight with a pair of makes from the free throw line. Neither team could find much of a rhythm in the third quarter, though bucket for bucket, the two teams would go. Paige Winter would pick up three assists for the Golden Bears in the third quarter, including a pass to Sophie Hedge, who would hit from deep again with 1:31 to play in the frame. WNE would beat the buzzer again as Cooney would get a layup on an inbounds pass from Winter, which gave Western New England a nine-point lead at the end of three, 58-49. WNE was 7/14 from the field in the third.

Western New England would pull away from the Blue Jays in the fourth quarter to pick up the victory. Winter opened the scoring with a three-ball, while Young helped keep WNE's lead in double figures with a tip-in layup with 6:02 to play, giving the Golden Bears a 65-55 lead. WNE would go on a quick 7-2 run that would bring their lead up to 15 as Emma Kahn, Sophie Hedge, and Shaina Cooney would all contribute for Western New England. USJ would not be able to bring WNE's lead down to less than 12 in the final three minutes of the game as late hoops from Erin Reen and Sarah West would ice the game for the Golden Bears as Western New England came up with an 82-63 win over USJ to advance to the championship game on Sunday.

Inside the Lines:

• WNE made nine field goals in the fourth quarter, shooting 9/21 overall.
• Shaina Cooney collected 17 points and eight rebounds in the win, shooting 7/13 overall from the field while grabbing two steals and an assist.
• Lilly Hedge (14 points) shot 6/8 from the field, Sophie Hedge (13 points) was 4/7 overall from the field, Nora Young (12 points) had nearly all her points inside the pain, shooting 6/9, and Emma Novajasky (10 points) shot 5/7 for WNE in the win.
• WNE out-rebounded USJ 41-29 in the game.
• Tayloe Verboven led the Blue Jays with 19 points on 7/13 shooting. USJ was just 37% from the floor as a team.
• Western New England shot 53% as a team while hitting four threes overall.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will battle Wesleyan University on Sunday, November 24 at 2:00 PM for the Hampton Inn Holiday Classic title.