DUDLEY, Mass. (February 8, 2025) – WNE traveled to Dudley, Massachusetts, for their second of two regular-season matchups with the Nichols College Bison. The first half saw WNE take a commanding 16-point lead, with Paige Winter responsible for 14 points, shooting 80% from beyond the arc. Winter would add six more in the second half to finish with a team-high 20 points, while Sophie Hedge scored 16 points in the second half and thirteen in the fourth quarter to help the Golden Bears pick up the 73-50 conference victory.

Records:

• Western New England: 20-1, 13-1 CNE
• Nichols College: 12-9, 5-9 CNE

How it Happened:

After the opening tip-off was won by the Bison, the Golden Bears would strike first with a Shaina Cooney jump shot that gave WNE the contest's opening points. That was followed by an Emma Novajasky three-pointer a few possessions later to give WNE an early 5-0 lead. The Bison stormed back with five points of their own, including an Adison Whitty three to tie the game. Shaina Cooney answered with five points to double the WNE lead. That was followed by an Emma Kahn three to extend the lead to eight. Nora Young concluded the 10-point WNE run with a made jumper. WNE led by ten with 3:51 remaining in the opening quarter. The Golden Bears extended the lead even more with a 9-5 run to end the opening quarter, which included four points, including a three-pointer from Paige Winter. After the first quarter, WNE led 24-10. The Golden Bears shot 55.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc.

The Golden Bears would extend their lead in the second quarter. Shaina Cooney continued the great start with a layup in the opening minute of play. Made free throws would keep the Bison from letting the Golden Bears extend the lead too much. Then, Summer Klein hit a three with 8:06 remaining in the first half to help the Bison go on a 5-0 run. They extended the run to 7-0 to cut the WNE lead to eight with a layup with 5:17 remaining in the second. However, Paige Winter answered with a three to move the WNE lead back up to double digits, 30-19. After the teams traded shots, the Bison would cut into the deficit and once again make the game an eight-point contest thanks to an Abrianna Vazquez three and a Summer Klein layup. The score was 32-24 WNE with 2:20 remaining in the half. That is when the Golden Bears took control of the rest of the half. They scored eight points in a row, which included a Novajasky jump shot and two Paige Winter three-pointers to close out the first half. WNE led 40-24 at the halftime break. The first-half stats saw WNE shooting 48.4 percent from the field, and they held their 50 percent three-point percentage. The Bison shot 23.5 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from three. Paige Winter led the Golden Bears with 14 points in the first half, shooting 4-5 from three and collecting an assist. Lilly Hedge collected a team-high nine rebounds and five assists for WNE. Abrianna Vazquez led the Bison with seven points and one assist.

The second half started the same way the first did: a Shaina Cooney basket. The lead was extended to 20 by Colleen Furlong's two-point jumper. The Bison would not give up, though. Summer Klein and Abrianna Vazquez helped cut the deficit back down to 16. They would continue their 7-0 run with three free throws before Paige Winter continued Winter's exceptional performance with another three. That started a 7-0 run for WNE to give WNE a 21-point lead with 3:10 remaining in the third. The Golden Bears and Bison traded shots to end the third, with Sophie Hedge and Aydan Gulliver trading three-point shots for the teams, respectively. The score after three quarters of play was 55-37. The Golden Bears continued their 50% three-point percentage in the third and out-rebounded the Bison 12-9.

The fourth quarter saw WNE finish off the conference win by adding even more to their lead. Although the Bison would hit two of the first three shots from the teams, Sophie Hedge's two threes would help the Golden Bears start the quarter strong. The Bison would try to fight back by driving to the basket and drawing fouls before making their free throws, but Paige Winter continued the excellent three-point shooting day for the Golden Bears with a three to give WNE their largest lead of the game, 22. Sophie Hedge made a three to extend the lead to 25 and then added a jump shot and the and-one free throw. 28 would be the largest lead the Golden Bears would have during the game. With under three minutes left in the game, the Bison would chip away at that large lead with a layup and a three-point shot by Isabella Lopez-Marin to finish out the game. They would cut the deficit to 23, which is how the contest ended. The Golden Bears defeated the Bison 73-50. The final stats saw WNE shoot 27-57 from the field (47.4%). They also shot 13-24 from behind the three-point line (54.2%). They out-rebounded the Bison 56-30 and saw their bench put up 48 total points on the Bison. However, the Bison won the turnover battle by creating 29 WNE turnovers compared to their 12 lost turnovers. The Bison would collect three blocks on the day and 13 fast-break points. The Golden Bears picked up their 20th win of the season with that conference victory over the Bison.

Inside the Lines:

• Paige Winter led the Golden Bears with a career-high 20 points, including shooting 75% from three (6-8), four rebounds, and two assists.
• Sophie Hedge also added a career-high 18 points, which included shooting 4-5 (80%) from three. Hedge also had four rebounds and two assists.
• Lilly Hedge would help the team through a team-high 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
• Abrianna Vazquez led the Bison with eleven points and two assists. Angie Coletti led the team in rebounds with five.
• The Golden Bears led for 39:06 out of 40:00 minutes in the game and never trailed.
• The Golden Bears defeated the Bison for the eighth consecutive contest by a score of 73-50.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will return to WNE for their next conference game on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, when they host Suffolk University at 5:30 pm. WNE has won six of their last seven games versus the Rams and look to make it three wins in a row on Tuesday.