BOSTON, Mass. (January 22, 2025) – The Western New England women's basketball team outscored the hosting Rams of Suffolk University 24-13 in the third quarter of Wednesday night's Conference of New England game to come away with a 14-point victory, 69-55. Lilly Hedge, Emma Kahn, and Shaina Cooney were all in double figures while Caitlyn Hunt provided a much-needed spark off the bench for the Golden Bears in the victory.

Records:
·      Western New England: 15-1, 8-1 CNE
·      Suffolk University: 9-7, 4-5 CNE
How it Happened:

The opening quarter brought a slow start for both teams offensively, as Suffolk would record the first point of the game at the 8:18 mark when Maddie Stewart recorded a free throw to put the Rams ahead 1-0. Western New England's first points of the game came with 7:12 to play in the frame as Emma Novajasky rattled home a triple, giving the Golden Bears their first lead of the game. Scoring would quickly pick up as the Golden Bears and Rams traded hoops, with Emma Kahn getting on the scoreboard for the blue and gold. Western New England's largest lead of the quarter would come at 5:05 to play when Colleen Furlong launched and hit a three, giving WNE a 10-4 lead. Suffolk would quickly get back within one before Shaina Cooney was next on the board for WNE, hitting a jumper from inside the key, which gave WNE a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The two teams shot a combined 9/39 in the opening quarter. The Golden Bears out-rebounded Suffolk 14-10 in the first ten minutes.

Western New England opened the second quarter with the first five points of it, getting a layup from Perry Blasetti while Caitlyn Hunt would come off the bench to hit a three, giving the Golden Bears a 17-9 lead. The next six points of the quarter would belong to the Rams as Suffolk would continue to fight back after the Golden Bears would take their leads. Emma Kahn would hit a three to stop Suffolk's lead with 5:36 remaining, seeing the WNE lead 20-15. The Rams would go on a scoring run at the end of the second quarter as Olivia Verdile would hit a layup and a free throw on the same possession while Aisling Crowley would tie the score at 24 with 1:14 to play. Western New England would take a one-point lead into the break after Nora Young would convert one of two free throws, leading 25-24. The two teams were shooting 25% from the floor after 20 minutes of play. Western New England made just four of their eight free throws in the half while hitting just three two-point shots out of 16 total attempts. The Rams were just 2/8 from deep in the half and were out-rebounded 28-17.

Western New England owned the Rams in the third quarter, outscoring the home team 24-13 to run away with the lead. Suffolk would score the first five points of the quarter, which gave them the early five-point lead. Emma Novajasky started the scoring for the Golden Bears with a three-ball, which sparked a 15-0 run for Western New England. On the run, Lilly Hedge, Emma Kahn, Emma Novajasky, and Shaina Cooney would all score, which saw Suffolk's 30-25 lead turn into a western New England 40-30 advantage. Cooney would go for nine total points for Western New England in the quarter to lead the way. WNE's lead would grow to as many as 15 overall in the quarter after Caitlyn Hunt would continue to produce off the bench for the blue and gold. Suffolk would get six of the final eight points in the final 1:47 of the frame, which would slightly dip Western New England's lead down to 12 after three quarters. WNE was all over the offense in the frame, shooting 11/18 from the floor, needing just one three-ball.

Suffolk looked to get back into the game in the early stages of the fourth quarter, getting WNE's lead down to ten, which would be as low as the lead would fall to as WNE would respond to Suffolk's points with a run of their own to put away the Rams on their home floor. Erin Reen would contribute an early hoop for the Golden Bears while Lilly Hedge would catch fire in the fourth quarter, nearing her third straight double-double overall, scoring 15 points while coming away with nine rebounds and five assists on the night. Western New England would hit their late free throws down the stretch despite going just 12/23 from the free throw line on the night, sinking Suffolk by a final score of 69-55, outscoring the Rams 44-31.

Inside the Lines:
·      Three Golden Bears were in double figures in scoring on Wednesday night to lead the Golden Bears to their fifth straight win of the season. Lilly Hedge (15 points), Emma Kahn (13 points), and Shaina Cooney (13 points) provided major offense for WNE.
·      Off the bench, Western New England saw a spark of help from Caitlyn Hunt, who scored eight points and two threes on the night. The WNE bench contributed 17 points on the night.
·      Emma Novajasky was two points short of her second career double-double, going for eight points and ten rebounds on the night.
·      The Golden Bears, one of the best rebounding teams in the country, grabbed 51 rebounds on the night, including 18 on the offensive glass. Suffolk collected just 32 total rebounds on the night.
·      The Rams were led by Jordan Moreau, who scored 12 points and had seven rebounds, four assists, a block, and a steal on the night. Suffolk shot just 31% from the floor.
·      Western New England picked up their shooting in the second half, shooting 17/35 overall in the final 20 minutes of the gam

• WNE picks up their second straight win over Suffolk and sixth in the last seven meetings over the Rams overall.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England returns to the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center on Saturday, January 25, at 1:00 PM, hosting Wentworth Institute of Technology.