SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 1, 2024) – The Western New England Women's Basketball Team avenged its only loss of the 2024-25 season Saturday, winning its pivotal rematch with the University of New England by a score of 63-56 at the Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center.  Nora Young played a starring role, contributing 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists in 33 minutes off the bench.  With the victory, the Golden Bears retain sole possession of first place in the Conference of New England (CNE) standings with six games remaining. 

Records:

• Western New England:  18-1, 11-1 CNE
• University of New England: 10-9, 7-5 CNE

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears found themselves in an immediate hole after failing to score for nearly six minutes to open the contest, allowing the Nor'easters to storm out to an early 15-0 advantage.  University of New England's Faye Veilleux set the tone early, scoring ten first quarter points on five-for-six shooting.  
Western New England finally got on the board with a Young jumper with 4:06 remaining in the first quarter.  Paige Winter then trimmed the deficit to 15-5 on the Bears' first made three point attempt of the game.  Sophie Hedge briefly whittled the margin to single digits with a three-point play to bring the score to 20-12, before the Nor'easters scored the final three points of the opening stanza.

The Golden Bears responded in the second quarter with arguably their best quarter of basketball all season, shifting momentum and outpacing UNE by a dominant 22-4 margin.  Emma Kahn began second quarter scoring with a clutch three pointer as the shot clock expired to get the Bears within eight.  Two minutes later, Kahn scored a driving layup prompting a UNE timeout as the Nor'easter lead dwindled to four with 6:54 remaining.  

Back-to-back three pointers by Winter and Emma Novajasky gave the Bears their first lead of the afternoon, 27-25.  It proved to be the only lead change of the game.  Novajasky then added another three.  A layup by Young rounded out first half scoring. 
WNE held UNE scoreless for the final 4:30 of the half.  After the initial deficit, WNE outscored UNE by a cumulative score of 34-12 over the final 14:06.  

The Nor'easters found their footing again in the third quarter, winning the period by a score of 18-15.  UNE cut the deficit to two points at 47-45 on a three pointer by Sydney Jenisch.  But Young was able to score off an offensive rebound in the final minute to push the Golden Bear lead to 49-45 entering the final ten minutes.
Strong defense allowed WNE to seal the victory in the fourth quarter.  The Golden Bears held UNE scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the quarter, opening their largest lead in the process, 57-45.  A pair of Kahn jumpers highlighted the 8-0 WNE run.
After calling a timeout, UNE made its last stand, going on a 5-0 run to get within seven.  The Nor'easters then looked to score again, but Winter successfully defended a 2-on-1 breakaway, stripping the ball out of bounds to end the threat.  Lilly Hedge put the game away on a layup with 32 seconds remaining to push the WNE lead back to three possessions.

Inside the Lines:

• Bench play proved decisive in this game, with Western New England claiming a whopping 32-6 advantage in bench scoring, led by Young's team-high 14.  All 12 of WNE's first quarter points were scored by bench players.
• The Golden Bears dominated the glass, collecting 49 rebounds to 32 for the Nor'easters.  22 of WNE's rebounds came off the offensive glass.
• Points in the paint heavily favored WNE by a 38-16 margin.  
• Lilly Hedge finished the game with 11 points and eight rebounds.  Emma Kahn scored 10 points to go along with seven boards.
• UNE's Sydney Jenisch led all scorers with 19 points on 7 for 15 shooting, including five threes.  

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE returns to action on Wednesday when they travel to Roger Williams for a 5:30 p.m. conference contest.