SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 21, 2025) – The Western New England women's basketball team was led by Sophie Hedge, who put up 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 66-49 win over the Seahawks of Salve Regina University on Friday night, advancing to the Hampton Inn Holiday Classic Championship Game on Saturday afternoon. 

Records:

• Western New England: 3-2
• Salve Regina University: 2-4

How it Happened:

First Quarter:

• Western New England cashed in on their opening offensive possession of the game, seeing Perry Blasetti drop a triple on an assist from Paige Winter, quickly opening up a lead in the game, one WNE never lost. Salve's leading player, Sofia Neary, got to the free throw line and cashed in a pair before Sophie Hedge and Hannah Blake got on the board as the Golden Bears' offense began clicking. 
• Hedge opened with six quick points in the opening four minutes of the game while also crashing the glass. Salve's first field goal came 5:01 into the opening quarter when Frankie Spadorcia tipped home a layup, getting within five of WNE, 12-7. Salve Regina had the next two points, getting within three, but the Golden Bears buried the Seahawks from there to end the opening quarter.
• Lottia Barnes, Devlyn McDonald, Sarah West, and Sophie Hedge all contributed to Western New England's 12-2 run to end the quarter, which gave the home team a 24-10 lead at the end of the quarter. Salve shot just 2/15 in the opening quarter with six points coming from the free throw line. WNE made ten field goals in the opening frame, going 10/18 overall. 

Second Quarter:

• The second quarter was much like the first, dominated by the Golden Bears as Salve Regina's offense was slowed. Erin Reen opened the scoring for the Golden Bears in the frame while Katie Regan got on the board 2:15 in, giving the blue and gold a 28-12 lead.
• Salve Regina's lone field goal of the quarter came at the 7:20 mark when Sophie Hjerpe hit a jumper on an assist from Sofia Neary. Western New England did most of the scoring from there, minus a pair of free throws. Perry Blasetti, Olivia Chrzan, and Barnes helped the Golden Bears grow a 21-point lead, which was only knocked down by two points by the end of the frame as the dominant WNE offense and defense took a 35-16 lead out of the half. 
• The Seahawks made just one field goal on 11 shots. WNE was somewhat slowed, shooting 4/13 in the frame. 

Third Quarter:

• The Seahawks offense came alive in the third quarter while Western New England's maintained. Hannah Blake, Paige Winter, and Sophie Hedge picked up early points for WNE, growing their lead to 23 points, 31-18. Salve Regina began chipping away, scoring seven in a row before Devlyn McDonald had a jumper go down at the midway point of the quarter, giving WNE a 43-25 advantage. 
• WNE kept their double-digit lead throughout the quarter, leading 51-32, following five straight points to end the third quarter by Perry Blasetti. 
• The Seahawks scored more points, 17, in the third quarter than they had in the first half combined, 16. WNE hit a pair of triples in the quarter. 

Fourth Quarter:

• The Seahawks dropped the Golden Bear lead to 13 just three minutes into the fourth quarter, looking to pull off an upset after a slow start. Sophie Hedge caught fire to stop Salve's run, scoring the first eight points of the fourth for WNE, which grew the lead back to 19, 61-42. 
• The Seahawks couldn't answer the run of Hedge while Erin Reen, McDonald, and Blasetti helped the Golden Bears grow their lead to as many as 22 in the final quarter before Salve Regina ended the game on a 5-0 run, but not enough to defeat the Golden Bears, who came up with a 66-49 victory, securing a spot in their own tournament's championship game tomorrow afternoon. 

Inside the Lines:

• Sophie Hedge led the Golden Bears with 20 points and 14 rebounds, her second double-double of the season.
• Perry Blasetti (12) and Lottia Barnes (10) were also in double figures in scoring for Western New England on the night. 
• Sofia Neary led Salve Regina with 18 points and 15 rebounds, scoring 12 of her 18 points from the free throw line. Neary shot 3/14 from the field. 
• WNE shot 42% from the field in the game overall, hitting five triples. Salve shot a mere 24% from the field. 21 points for the Seahawks came from the charity stripe. 

Coach's Corner:
Junior Sophie Hedge was interviewed after her double-double performance on Friday. Hedge was asked what she thought about the overall game and how the team played today. "I think that coming off a loss, we were really hungry, and especially with last season and the season before that being very successful. We are all trying to find our role, and I think this win means a lot for us with confidence. I'm really proud of all my teammates," Hedge answered. When asked about her double-double performance, Hedge mentioned, "I think that it all starts with my teammates. We knew right from the jump that we needed to have energy, and we needed to run really hard, so it's all possible with the right cut by the right person. Then, just crashing the boards, my teammates boxing out, and I just ran after (the ball). It's all my teammates, really."
Head coach Nicki Chaszar met with the sports information team after the game to answer a few questions. Chaszar was asked what she liked about the team and what it meant to get a bounce-back win. "I think that today, we got a lot of transition buckets. That was a big focus after the loss. The other night, we weren't scoring in transitions. I love the bounce back. I loved the way we pushed the ball. I think that was the difference-maker today," Chaszar answered. Then, when asked what it will take to defeat the winner of St. Lawrence University and Connecticut College, Chaszar noted that, "I think defensively, we have to be very locked in. Conn. College has a lot of size, and we are a little undersized in the post, so that's gonna be a tough matchup. St. Lawrence shoots the ball very well; they let it fly, so it's kind of like two separate scouting reports, but I think defensively is where we really need to lock in on the scout and just be prepared for whichever team we play."
Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Hampton Inn Holiday Classic wraps up with a pair of games tomorrow, Saturday, November 22. The Golden Bears, with their win tonight, play at 2:00 PM against the winner of game two from tonight, Connecticut College. The two losers from tonight, Salve Regina University and St. Lawrence University, will battle in the consolation game at 12:00 PM Saturday afternoon.