Western New England University

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 6, 2026) – The Western New England women's basketball team fought until the final buzzer and came back from a 13-point deficit with 1:55 to play in the third quarter, outscoring the hosting Pride of Springfield College 19-6 in the final ten minutes to come away with a 44-41 victory on Friday night inside Blake Arena. 

Records:

• Western New England: 1-0
• Springfield College: 0-1

How it Happened:

First Quarter:

• Western New England opened the scoring right at the start of the opening quarter in an unconventional way, sinking a free throw to go ahead 1-0 on a make from Sophie Hedge. Springfield answered with a layup from Claire Finney, taking its first lead of the game at the 8:47 mark. 
• Lottia Barnes cashed in on her first points of the night as the two teams went back and forth crossing through the midway point of the first quarter. Springfield College gained an eight-point edge when Kassidy Carrano drove to the rim to find a bucket. Barnes had five straight for WNE to get the Golden Bears within five, trailing 13-8. Springfield College had a buzzer-beating bucket to close the quarter, giving the Pride a 15-8 lead. 
• WNE made just a pair of field goals in a slow opening quarter, while Springfield shot 6/15 from the floor to begin the game. 

Second Quarter:

• The Blue and Gold scored just 22 seconds into the quarter when Sarah West came up with a layup to get her first points of the season. The Golden Bears got back within three after Lottia Barnes and Olivia Chrzan picked up buckets at the 7:28 mark to close the gap, seeing WNE trailing 17-14. 
• Sophie Hedge netted her first triple of the season with 4:12 to go in the second quarter, as the Golden Bears trailed 19-17. Springfield College made a push in the final three minutes of the quarter, however, outscoring the Golden Bears 9-5 to take a 28-19 lead at the half. 
• The Pride were a perfect 6/6 from the free throw line, but shot just 1/9 from the outside. Western New England shot 5/12 from the field, but went 1/4 from deep. 

Third Quarter:

• Sarah West opened the scoring in the third quarter for Western New England to pull the Blue and Gold back within six, before Natalie Lucas dropped a three for Springfield right after. The third quarter saw both teams battle on the defensive end, while the Pride took its first double-digit lead of the night, leading WNE 33-22 with 3:49 to play in the quarter. 
• Western New England scored just six points in the quarter, shooting 2/9 from the field, hitting from the outside twice. Springfield shot 3/14 overall. 

Fourth Quarter:

• Alexa Rabidoux hit a jumper off an offensive rebound to cut Springfield's lead to eight. Sophie Hedge answered with a bucket of her own, getting up to six points on the night with 7:35 remaining, as the Golden Bears attempted a comeback after being down by double figures, trailing 35-29. 
• The Golden Bears continued to find offense, using a scoring run of 12-0 to begin the fourth quarter to roar all the way back and take a 37-35 lead with 5:26 to play after Olivia Chrzan got to the rim to score a bucket. 
• SC answered with a triple by Claire Finney to take a lead with 4:15 to play. Western New England and Springfield went scoreless for over two and a half minutes before Hedge knocked down a shot from Lottia Barnes to put the Golden Bears in front by one. Hedge then walked down the court and drained a triple with 1:02 remaining to give WNE a 42-38 lead. The Pride answered back with a three of their own with 34 seconds to play, as Finney continued to lead Springfield. 
• Alexa Rabidoux made a pair of clutch free throws with 14 seconds remaining to give Western New England a three-point lead, 44-41. Springfield College would miss a pair of triples at the end of the game, as the Golden Bears snuck out an opening-night victory, 44-41. 

Inside the Lines:

• Sophie Hedge led Western New England's comeback on Friday night, scoring 14 points on 5/12 shooting, hitting a pair of triples in the win. Hedge recorded nine rebounds and two steals. 
• Lottia Barned played in 36 minutes of the 40, picking up nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, and a block. 
• Olivia Chrzan swatted away four shots, while picking up seven points on the offensive end. 
• Alexa Rabidoux made major contributions off the bench for WNE, picking up seven points and a pair of rebounds, while starting and ending the fourth-quarter comeback with points. 
• WNE shot just 33% from the field on opening night, rallying by shooting 53% in the fourth quarter. 
• The Golden Bears held Springfield to just 23% shooting, as the Pride shot 5/27 from the outside. 
• WNE earns its third straight win over Springfield College in the all-time series. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears open their home slate on Monday, November 9 at 7:00 PM when they host Elms College.