SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 25, 2017) – The Western New England University women's basketball team built a 12-point halftime lead and held off Salve Regina University down the stretch to earn a 72-61 victory this evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers

• Senior forward Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) led the way for the Golden Bears with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field and nine rebounds.
• Junior guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) shot 3-of-11 from the field and was 7-of-8 from free throw line for a 14-point performance to go with four assists.
• Senior guard Sammie Battaini (Leominster, Mass.) rounded out Western New England's double figure scorers with ten points.
• Freshman guard Torie Scorpio (Cranston, R.I.) posted a solid all-around effort to lead Salve Regina with a team-high 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
• Sophomore guard Kerri Beland (Attleboro, Mass.) finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

Game Review

• Salve Regina led late in the first quarter, 11-6, after a layup by sophomore Liv Pierce (Tyngsboro, Mass.) with 3:48 left in the period. The Golden Bears would then go on a 5-0 run with a three-pointer from O'Neill to tie the game at 11. The rest of the quarter would stay close, and a foul as time expired sent junior Ally Esielionis (Shirley, Mass.) to the free throw line, where she made 2-of-3 to tie the game at 15.
• A shot from beyond the arc by senior Sammie Olson (Tolland, Conn.) early in the second quarter sparked an 8-0 Western New England run, as the Golden Bears claimed a 23-15 lead with 6:31 left in the half.
• Western New England, which limited the Seahawks to ten points on 27.8% (5-of-18) in the second quarter, led 37-25 at halftime.
• Salve Regina got as close as ten (40-30) after a three-pointer by junior Mary Eden (So. Kingstown, R.I.) three minutes into the second half, but Western New England quickly stretched its advantage back to 15 before taking a 55-39 lead into the final frame.
• Led by Beland and senior Jillian Woodward (Orono, Maine), Salve Regina pulled to within eight (62-54) with just under three minutes remaining, but the Golden Bears sank 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Notes

• Western New England shot 36.4% (20-of-55) from the field, 41.7% (10-of-24) from three-point range, and 68.8% (22-of-32) from the free throw line.
• The Seahawks outrebounded the Golden Bears 40-37.
• Western New England has now won three straight games, all by double digits.

Up Next
Western New England (13-4, 9-2 CCC) will host a key CCC matchup with the University of New England on Saturday at 1 p.m., while Salve Regina (5-13, 3-8 CCC) returns home to take on Curry.