SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 25, 2025) – The Western New England women's basketball team outscored the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology 26-8 in the third quarter to push their lead to over 25, while WNE would put up 47 total second-half points and come up with 11 total blocks in Saturday's 78-46 victory to move to 9-1 in conference play.

Records:

·      Western New England: 16-1, 9-1 CNE

·      Wentworth Institute of Technology: 2-15, 0-10 CNE

How it Happened:

The Leopards would hold their own in the first ten minutes of play and would score the first bucket of the game when Maddy Foster put WIT on the scoreboard early. Lilly Hedge picked up WNE's first hoop of the game on a tip-in layup quickly after the Wentworth hoop. The Leopards would take a five-point lead after Brianna Carroll drained a three with 6:15 to play, stunning Western New England. Emma Kahn would hit from deep on WNE's next possession, though Wentworth continued to take it to the CNE's top team. Western New England's first lead of the game wouldn't come until 39 seconds to play in the first after Nora Young swished a three, giving WNE a 13-11 lead, a lead they took out of the first ten minutes of play. WNE earned four blocked shots on Wentworth in the opening quarter, though they shot just 5/17 overall from the floor.

Western New England would hold onto their lead for the whole second quarter, starting off with a layup from Paige Winter, extending the lead to four. Sophie Hedge got WNE's lead to as many as five quickly in the frame before Lilly Hedge would knock down two free throws with 5:49 to play, seeing Western New England lead 21-14. The Hedge duo would stay all over the scoreboard for the Golden Bears, though Wentworth would have an answer for nearly every bucket, dropping WNE's seven-point lead to just a one-point lead with 1:52 to play after Maddy Foster hit back-to-back corner threes while Tita Rana stepped into a jumper and buried it, giving Wentworth their 24th point of the night, trailing Western New England 25-24. The Golden Bears would end the second quarter on a small but important 6-0 run as Sophie Hedge and Emma Novajasky netted a pair of triples, giving Western New England a 31-24 halftime lead. WNE shot another poor quarter, shooting 40% overall from the field, going 6/15.

The third quarter saw Western New England pick up their offense and would bury Wentworth quickly. Shaina Cooney and Lilly Hedge were quickly on the scoreboard in the quarter while Emma Novajasky's three-ball gave the Golden Bears a 39-26 lead, their first double-digit lead of the game. Wentworth would not have an answer to the fast-paced Golden Bears, who went on an 11-0 run, capped off by a Cooney and-one opportunity, giving WNE a 45-26 lead. The Golden Bears continued to stay hot from the floor in the third as Colleen Furlong would launch and hit a triple, raising WNE's lead to 24. Wentworth's Gabby Amoddio would find four points in the final two minutes for WIT, though it would not be enough as Abby Marasco and Sophie Hedge recorded the final buckets of the third quarter, a quarter that saw the Golden Bears shoot 10/13 from the floor and 2/2 from deep, taking a 57-32 lead after three quarters.

WNE would hold their big lead through the fourth quarter as Wentworth would not have an answer. Sophie Hedge continued to be a force for WNE, hitting a three for the Golden Bears' first bucket of the quarter. Sarah West would come off the bench and provide productivity for the Golden Bears, who led by 24 with 7:15 to play. Paige Winter and Hannah Blake would keep the scoring going and would get WNE's lead to over 30 points with 3:58 left to play. Katie Regan would have the final bucket of the game for Western New England as the Golden Bears came away with a 78-46 victory on the afternoon.

Inside the Lines:

·      After staying close through the first half, Western New England pulled away right from the beginning of the third quarter and would not look back, outscoring Wentworth 47-22 in the second half overall.

·      Lilly Hedge led the scoring again for WNE, going for 15 points and five rebounds on the afternoon while also picking up three blocks, an assist, and a steal.

·      Sophie Hedge provided 12 points on 4/7 shooting in the 14 minutes played.

·      Western New England picked up 44 rebounds to Wentworth's 25 in the game.

·      The Golden Bears shot 18/25 in the second half and were 5/6 from distance to lead the way.

·      This is the 21st straight win for the Golden Bears over Wentworth in their all-time meetings.

Up Next on the Schedule:

·      WNE will get right back to it on Tuesday, January 28, at 5:30 PM, traveling a short distance to the University of Hartford for a Conference of New England game.