MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College Women's Basketball team triumphed over visiting Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) rival Western New England University Wednesday night in Milton in the league opener for both schools. The Colonels improved to 3-2 overall and notched their first conference wins in as many tries. The Golden Bears fell to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in the CCC.

Curry took its largest lead in the first half (26-14) after senior Samantha Corcoran (Hampton, N.H.) hit a jump shot with 2:57 left on the clock. Junior Shannon Griffith (West Hartford, Conn.) sank her second of two free throw attempts to close out the scoring in the first half and gave the Colonels a 30-21 lead going into halftime.

The second half opened up with a Samantha Corcoran lay-up bringing the Curry lead to 11 points (32-21), however, the Golden Bears were sparked by a Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) three-pointer to cut the lead to eight. The Colonels and Western New England traded baskets until senior Kylie Beltz (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) made her first of two free throw attempts bringing the score to 45-32 in favor of Curry. The Colonels took their largest lead of the game with a 15-point spread after a lay-up from senior Jeanette Fallon (Nashua, N.H.) with 6:22 left in the game. Curry held on to its lead and won by the final score of 59-48.

The Colonels were led by Beltz with a game high 12 points. Junior Kerry White (Windham, N.H.) was right behind with 10 points and chipped in with a game-best four steals. Corcoran hauled in 10 rebounds and also tallied two blocks while Griffith pulled down nine boards for Curry.

Chelsea Vujs lead the Golden Bears with team highs in points (9), rebounds (10) and steals (3). Senior Samantha McCann (Warren, Mass.) chipped in with seven points and four rebounds, while sophomore Sammie Olson (Tolland, Conn.) and junior Amanda Lopez (Windsor, Conn.) both chipped in with five boards each.

The Colonels return to action Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. tip off at CCC rival Eastern Nazarene, while Western New England also resumes play on Saturday afternoon as they host conference foe Gordon College at 1 p.m.