MILTON, Mass. (February 3, 2026) – The Western New England women's basketball team survived a Conference of New England road contest on Tuesday night at Curry College, seeing the one-win Colonels in conference action lead for over 50% of the game, but a late 9-0 run for the Golden Bears pushed them over the edge in a 70-61 victory. 

Records:

• Western New England: 14-6, 8-3 CNE
• Curry College: 2-18, 1-10 CNE

How it Happened:

First Quarter:

• Curry jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after connecting on their opening two buckets of the game. One of the lowest-scoring teams in the conference, the Colonels continued their scoring, while the WNE defense fell flat early. Sophie Hedge had the first triple of the game for the Golden Bears, while Perry Blasetti had WNE's second to tie the game at eight with 5:29 remaining in the opening quarter. 
• Curry carried a seven-point lead after going on a quick run, their largest lead of the game with still 4:39 to play in the frame. Lauren Dunn was up to seven points for the Colonels in the early goings. Olivia Chrzan got hot from the floor and scored the final six points of the quarter overall for the Golden Bears to get the Blue and Gold within one at the end of the opening ten minutes of action, seeing WNE trail 15-14. 
• The Golden Bears made five field goals in the quarter, two coming from distance, while Curry hit six field goals, all two-pointers, and went 3/3 at the free throw line. WNE had the 11-7 rebounding edge. 

Second Quarter:

• Katie Regan gave Western New England their first lead of the game just a minute into the second quarter, scooping an offensive rebound and scoring. Curry was scoreless for the opening four minutes of the quarter while the Golden Bears picked up just six points in the opening 4:34 of the frame, unable to separate themselves from the stingy Curry offense. 
• Curry's Olivia Roy hit from distance, the Colonels' first make from the outside in the game to cut WNE's lead to two, 20-18. Perry Blasetti led Western New England's offense in the opening half with seven points, but Curry still found a way to retake the lead with 2:33 left in the quarter when Lauren Morse got a layup to fall to give the Colonels a 25-24 lead. After Curry led by three with a minute to go, WNE's Hedge connected from distance with 40 seconds to play to even the score at 27 heading into the halftime break. 
• The Golden Bears shot 50% from the field in the second quarter, going 5/9 inside the arc. Curry made just four field goals in the quarter but still managed to keep the game tied at halftime. Western New England doubled up Curry in rebounding in the quarter, 8-4. 

Third Quarter:

• For the 19^th time in 21 games this season, Sophie Hedge reached double figures in scoring, opening the second half with a three to put the Golden Bears ahead. The Colonels stayed hot from the free throw line and took the lead back just a minute after the Hedge triple, cashing in on four points from the line to take a 31-30 lead.  The Colonels were up to 11 free throws with eight minutes to play in the third quarter, hitting ten of those while Western New England had just two opportunities in the opening half.
• The Golden Bears took the lead back after Erin Reen and Hannah Blake picked up back-to-back layups while Perry Blasetti's and-one had the Blue and Gold ahead by a bucket, 38-36. The lead did not last long as Curry continued to battle all night long, getting a shot to go from the outside from Lauren Dunn, her 15^th point of the night, giving the Colonels the lead again with 2:53 to play. 
• The Colonels stayed strong in the final two minutes of play and added to their lead, a lead that reached as many as seven with 1:19 to play, but the Golden Bears were able to cut the deficit down to four, trailing 47-43 with ten minutes remaining in the game. 
• The Golden Bears made five of their 15 shots in the quarter while Curry went 4/13. The Colonels were aided by their free throw shooting, going 11/13 at the line. Curry also held the rebounding advantage 14-5 in the third quarter, including 7-1 on the offensive glass. 

Fourth Quarter:

• The opening minute and four seconds of the fourth quarter saw Curry come down with back-to-back three-pointers to lead by eight before Western New England started cutting into the Curry advantage. Perry Blasetti made another layup and a foul shot on the same possession while Sophie Hedge continued to produce offense for the Golden Bears, getting WNE within three, forcing a timeout from the Colonels with seven minutes remaining, with Curry leading 53-50. 
• WNE was within one following the timeout before Lauren Dunn eclipsed the 20-point mark with a jumper to put the Colonels ahead 55-52. On the next possession of the game, Lottia Barnes drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 55, as the game came down to the final five minutes to determine a winner. 
• The teams stayed tied heading into the final two of the fourth quarter. Following a tying layup to get the game to 61 from Curry's Ella Palanza, the Golden Bears scored the final nine points of the game to pull out the win. Perry Blasetti cashed in from the free throw line twice and made a layup while Devlyn McDonald, Paige Winter, and Erin Reen all helped the Golden Bears from the field to come away with a 70-61 victory, surviving Curry's scare in CNE play. 

Inside the Lines:

• Western New England's 60% shooting in the fourth quarter helped win the game for the Blue and Gold. 
• After Curry had the advantage at the free throw line through the first three quarters, Western New England got to the line 21 times in the fourth quarter alone to come up with the win. 
• Perry Blasetti led Western New England with 20 points on 6/11 shooting, going 1/3 from the outside, picking up four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the win. 
• Sophie Hedge was in double figures, finishing the game with 13 points, going 3/7 from deep while picking up six rebounds and two assists. 
• Off the bench, Western New England picked up key contributions from Lottia Barnes (9 pts.), Olivia Chrzan (7 pts.), and Devlyn McDonald (6 pts.). 
• Curry's Lauren Dunn notched 20 points on the night on 6/10 shooting to lead the offense for the home team. 
• Western New England ended the night by shooting 41% from the field, going 5/16 from distance. The Golden Bears picked up 33 rebounds in the game and 14 overall assists. 
• Excluding their one victory in CNE action this season, tonight's nine-point loss for Curry is their second closest conference game this year by win margin. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears return home to host Gordon College on Saturday, February 7, at 1:00 PM where WNE women's basketball will honor seniors Perry Blasetti, Erin Reen, Paige Winter, and Hannah Blake prior to the opening tip.