BOSTON, Mass. (February 14, 2026) – The Western New England women's basketball team earned a Conference of New England victory on Saturday afternoon in Beantown, taking down the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology by a final score of 78-43 behind a career afternoon from Lottia Barnes, who finished with 26 points. 

Records:

• Western New England: 17-6, 11-3 CNE
• Wentworth Institute of Technology: 1-22, 0-15 CNE

How it Happened:

First Quarter:

• The Leopards put together a complete first quarter to put a scare in the Golden Bears early. Despite leading for most of the opening quarter, Western New England couldn't put Wentworth away early. Perry Blasetti and Hannah Blake picked up early buckets for the Golden Bears while Mia Luna Zayas and Taylor Garabedian got WIT on the board with WNE leading 6-5. 
• Paige Winter had the Golden Bears ahead by five with 6:10 remaining in the quarter, but Wentworth answered when Zayas hit from the outside again, while Tita Rana tied the game with 2:32 remaining, scoring a layup and hitting the foul shot to even the score at 13. Wentworth took the one-point lead at the 2:02 mark when Garabedian got to the rim to score, seeing the Leopards stun WNE with a 17-16 advantage. 
• A late bucket from Devlyn McDonald had Western New England ahead 21-19 at the end of the opening quarter, but Wentworth stayed in the game, going 8/15 in the opening quarter, shooting 8/15 from the field. Western New England took 17 field goals, making eight of those, including two from the outside. 

Second Quarter:

• Lottia Barnes got the scoring started for WNE in the quarter with a pair of free throws, while Katie Regan hit a jumper to increase WNE's lead to six. A stretch of over three minutes without a point saw the game hold a 27-21 in favor of Western New England until Hannah Blake broke that scoreless drought with 4:30 to play in the quarter with a jumper and then got to the rim to score to give the Golden Bears their first double-digit lead of the afternoon.
• The Golden Bears extended the lead with as many as 15 in the second quarter with Barnes contributing heavily for the Blue and Gold. Olivia Chrzan's free throw gave the Golden Bears a 40-25 lead with 1:15 to play before the Leopards had the final bucket of the quarter that saw the Golden Bears take a 40-27 lead into the halftime break.  
• WNE made seven field goals in the second quarter while the Leopards shot just 3/9, scoring just eight points. 

Third Quarter:

• Western New England broke the game wide open in the third quarter, scoring 22 points to Wentworth's seven. Lottia Barnes splashed a triple to open the frame while Erin Reen was on the scoreboard with a layup. Barnes stayed hot from the field in the quarter to get WNE's lead to over 20 points for the first time on the afternoon, seeing the Golden Bears lead 48-27. 
• Wentworth's first points of the quarter came four minutes in as Mia Luna Zayas registered a jumper. Zayas had all seven for the Leopards in the quarter overall. A triple from Perry Blasetti in the final minute and a half of the quarter saw the Golden Bears lead 62-34 at the end of the third frame, the game well in hand. 
• WNE went 3/6 from deep in the third quarter and shot 47% overall. Wentworth shot 3/9 again in the frame. 

Fourth Quarter:

• The Golden Bears used their bench in the final frame and finished out the game with a 35-point victory. Sarah West started the scoring in the quarter while Lottia Barnes continued her career-best afternoon, knocking down a triple from deep. Alexa Rabidoux contributed for the Golden Bears that saw WNE lead 69-34 with just under seven minutes remaining in the game. 
• Down the stretch, contributions from Olivia Chrzan and Alexa Rabidoux would be all WNE needed to come away with a 78-43 victory over the Leopards, secruing a big CNE victory. 

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears saw Lottia Barnes register 26 points on 7/13 shooting, going 4/5 from the outside, and 8/9 from the free throw line. Barnes also picked up five rebounds, three steals, and two assists for the Golden Bears. 
• Hannah Blake was in double figures for WNE with ten points, going 5/7 from the field, grabbing three assists, two rebounds, and a steal. 
• Both Katie Regan (9 points) and Alexa Rabidoux (7 points) sparked WNE off the bench.
• WNE shot 45% from the field as a team, going 8/18 from the outside. 
• Wentworth was led by Mia Luna Zayas, who scored 19 points on 6/13 shooting.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will host Nichols College on Tuesday, February 17, at 5:30 PM for the final home regular-season contest of the year.