WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (January 28, 2025) – The Western New England women's basketball team saw three of their own in double figures on Tuesday night in a Conference of New England contest while Colleen Furlong led the charge with seven points, six rebounds, and six assists in the game, as the Golden Bears rolled past the Hawks of the University of Hartford by a final score of 70-49.

Records:

·      Western New England: 17-1, 10-1 CNE

·      University of Hartford: 7-11, 5-6 CNE

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears started the game on time despite seeing Hartford have the first bucket of the game. WNE would score 25 points in the first quarter in under eight minutes of play to roll past Hartford handily in the opening ten minutes. Emma Kahn put Western New England on the scoreboard at the 7:53 mark, which would spark an 8-0 run for the blue and gold as Kahn churned out three points, Colleen Furlong launched and hit a triple of her own, and Shaina Cooney would grab a jumper, taking the quick six-point lead. Cooney would have a quick six for the Golden Bears following, while the Emma duo, Emma Novajasky and Emma Kahn, would score for the Golden Bears, who quickly took a 16-7 lead. WNE's first double-digit lead of the quarter came with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter when Kahn hit from deep. The Golden Bears would continue to hit their shots in the final seconds of the quarter as Perry Blasetti beat the buzzer after getting a steal and ran down the other end for two points, giving WNE a 25-13 lead at the end of the first. The Golden Bears were 10/15 from the field in the opening frame, going 2/3 from distance overall.

Western New England continued to score to begin the second quarter as two three balls would fall to open the stanza, one from Blasetti, while Caitlyn Hunt would get a shot to rattle home, putting Western New England ahead 31-13. Hartford would make a run to quickly cut down WNE's lead, led by Emma O'Hare, leading the Hawks to a quick 8-0 run, dropping the Golden Bears' lead down to ten. Colleen Furlong would continue to have success from the floor, stopping Hartford's run with a jumper that fell with 1:42 to play. WNE ended the second quarter on a 7-0 run; Kahn would hit a three while Caitlyn Hunt hit from inside the arc, which gave WNE a 38-21 lead at the half. WNE was 5/12 from the field in the second quarter, sinking 3/7 triples.

Hartford opened the third quarter on a small 6-0 run as Ava Naszimento and Ella Machesani combined for the quick six points, getting WNE's halftime lead down to 11. The Golden Bears would respond, as they did all night, getting the next six points, with Novajasky, Kahn, and Lilly Hedge contributing. The Golden Bears would again begin to separate themselves from the Hawks, taking a 24-point lead with 3:20 to play, 56-32. Perry Blasetti's late jumper from Paige Winter with 39 seconds to play in the third would be the final bucket of the quarter, which saw Western New England lead 58-38 after three. WNE was 9/16 from the field in the third quarter overall.

With the game well in hand, Western New England would score just 12 more points in the fourth quarter, which would be plenty to come away with the CNE victory. Six of the 12 points would come in the first 2:22 of the fourth quarter. Nora Young would hit two free throws while Perry Blasetti continued to be effective from the floor for Western New England. A span of well over three minutes would come with no scoring on the board for either team until Shaina Cooney would drop a three, burying the Hawks and giving WNE their largest lead of the game, 25 points, 67-42. With the game well in hand, Western New England would hit their final bucket, a deep three from Sophie Hedge, and take away a 70-49 victory over the Hawks to improve to 10-1 in CNE play on the season.

Inside the Lines

·      Three Golden Bears were in double figures on Tuesday night, including Emma Kahn, who led Western New England with 13 points on the night off 5/9 shooting, including 2/4 from deep. Kahn also had four blocks and four assists in the game, to go along with a rebound and a steal.

·      Shaina Cooney put up 11 points in the win, splashing a three while grabbing two rebounds and a steal in the win.

·      Perry Blasetti notched a career-high 11 points for Western New England in the victory, shooting 5/7 from the field, grabbing three rebounds, a block, and a steal in the win.

·      Western New England out-rebounded Hartford 36-25 in the game overall.

·      Colleen Furlong registered seven points on the night and filled the stat sheet with six rebounds and six assists.

·      23 of Western New England's 28 buckets came with an assist on the night.

·      WNE shot nearly 53% from the field while going a perfect 7/7 from the free throw line.

·      Hartford was led by Ava Naszimento, who scored 12 points on 6/7 shooting. Hartford shot 34% from the field as a team and was just 2/16 from distance.

·      WNE wins the season series from Hartford for the second straight year. WNE allowed just 81 points to Hartford this season while scoring 129.

Up Next on the Schedule:

·      The Golden Bears will look for revenge on their only loss of the season as the University of New England visits the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center on Saturday, February 1, at 1:00 PM.