SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 2, 2025) – The Western New England women's basketball team played a tight battle with the Owls of Westfield State University on Thursday night in their first game of the new year, coming away with a 61-50 win in their final non-conference game of the season.

Records:

• Western New England: 10-0
• Westfield State University: 7-5

How it Happened: 

Westfield State hit their first triple of the night after taking 32 threes' overall for the night. The Golden Bears would pick up their first field goal of the game at the 7:07 mark of the opening quarter when Shaina Cooney was on the board for the second time after hitting two free throws on the previous Western New England possession. Cooney had the first six points for the Golden Bears. Westfield State would continue to pressure WNE as Maddie Pond would drop a three that kept the Owls ahead by two, 8-6. Erin Reen would check in and contribute with a layup that gave the blue and gold their first lead of the game, 10-8, with 2:01 left to play in the quarter. Westfield would drop a three again, their third of the quarter, to take a one-point lead after one. The two teams combined for 32 shots in the opening frame, though both would hit just four field goals each. Westfield would be aided by their three-point shooting, hitting three of nine from deep in the opening quarter.

An exchange of hoops would open the second frame as both Caitlyn Hunt and Lilly Hedge would pick up buckets for the Golden Bears to get WNE the lead back, 14-13. Sophie Hedge would come away with Western New England's first three-point shot of the game, which extended their lead to its largest of the game, four. After a Lilly Hedge free throw, Westfield State would quickly make a comeback, getting a hoop from Jordan Grant while Maddie Pond would continue to hit from outside, knocking down a three to tie the game. Perry Blasetti would be the next Golden Bear to hit from three at the midway point of the second quarter. The battling Owls would not go away, taking a 22-21 lead quickly after the Blasetti make. Emma Kahn and Shaina Cooney would combine for a 7-0 run for the Golden Bears, which gave Western New England a six-point lead, their largest of the contest. The Owls would get back within one point of the lead with 27 seconds remaining in the opening half, though Kahn would come away with another three to end the half for Western New England, putting WNE ahead 33-29 at the break. The Golden Bears shot 53% from the field in the second quarter, scoring 23 points overall.

Westfield State had the first bucket of the third quarter, though a quick 6-0 run from the Golden Bears would get the lead to eight after Shaina Cooney would grab two layups while Lilly Hedge was on the scoreboard again for WNE. Westfield State would then go on a run of their own, which would again get the Owls back within one point. The Golden Bears would hold off Westfield for nearly five minutes of clock while their lead would once again get back up to seven with 2:04 left to play. The seven-point lead would remain after three quarters of play as the Golden Bears had a +3 scoring differential in the third quarter over the Owls. Westfield State hit just one of ten three-point shots in the frame.

The Golden Bears would pick up their largest lead of the game with 5:58 to play in the quarter after Emma Kahn would connect from just inside the arc, giving Western New England a 55-44 lead. While the Owls would get back within seven, Western New England would turn up their defensive prowess and would hit eight of their ten free throws in the quarter to ice the game. Erin Reen would splash three of those late free throws and would help Western New England come away with their tenth win of the season, a 61-50 victory over the Owls of Westfield State.

Inside the Lines:

• Shaina Cooney was a perfect 8/8 from the free throw line for Western New England in the game while scoring 5/8 field goals, scoring 18 points overall. The WNE senior grabbed ten rebounds in the game to record her first double-double of the season.
• Emma Kahn was also in double figures in scoring for the blue and gold, dropping 14 points on 6/12 field goals from the floor. Kahn also had two rebounds, an assist, and a block in the win.
• The Golden Bears out-rebounded the Owls 51-44 in a close margin overall. WNE was 16/22 on free throws in the contest.
• Western New England was aided by their second quarter shooting, going 8/15 overall from the field and 4/9 from deep. WNE hit just one three in the other three quarters.
• Westfield State started 3/9 from distance but went 1/18 in the second half, their demise in the game.
• WNE shot 39% from the field in the game while Westfield State shot just 24%, a season low.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Conference play remains for the Golden Bears on their schedule as play will continue on Saturday, January 4, at 1:00 PM, traveling to the University of New England for a championship game rematch from 2023-2024.