SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The third-seeded Western New England University women's basketball team held sixth-seeded Curry College to 26.1% shooting from the field in a 57-39, Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament quarterfinal victory this evening at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
With the win, Western New England (18-8) advances to the CCC semifinals for the third straight season. The Golden Bears will be on the road at No. 2 seed Roger Williams on Thursday night with a berth in the CCC championship contest on the line. Curry's season comes to a close at 10-16.
Top Performers
• Senior forward Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) led three Golden Bears in double figures with 11 points. Anderson also recorded eight rebounds, three assists and one steal.
• Senior Sammie Battaini (Leominster, Mass.) and junior Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) added ten points each, while senior forward Paige Young (Berlin, Conn.) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
• Freshman Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) contributed five points, ten rebounds, three steals and one block in 19 minutes off the bench.
• Sophomore guard Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) was the lone Colonel in double figures with 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, and 4-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Game Review
• Trailing 5-4 after an Irwin layup early in the first quarter, Western New England took the lead for good on a three-pointer by O'Neill at the 7:01 mark. O'Neill's trey sparked a 9-0 run overall that saw the Golden Bears open up a 13-5 lead with 4:14 on the clock.
• After Irwin completed a traditional three-point play with 2:36 remaining, Western New England used late triples from sophomore guard Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) and Anderson to extend its lead to 11 (19-8) heading into the second quarter.
• Both teams struggled early in the second, as freshman Emily Farrell's (New Fairfield, Conn.) layup at the 6:23 mark represented the first points of the quarter. Western New England led by as much as 13 on four occasions, before Irwin scored three straight points heading into the half to cut Curry's deficit to 11 (28-17) at the break.
• Western New England broke the game open in the third quarter, using a 12-0 run that spanned 3:05 to turn a 30-21 lead into a 41-21 advantage. Battaini got the run started with a three-pointer, while O'Neill, Young, Anderson and Gilhool also contributed points during the key surge.
• Curry was able to cut its deficit to 16 (43-27) heading into the fourth quarter, and the Colonels got as close as 14 after a layup by junior center Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) with 8:07 left in the contest.
• Western New England used a quick 6-0 run to restore its 20-point cushion (49-29), however, and Curry was unable to overcome the large deficit as the Golden Bears cruised to an 18-point triumph.
Notes
• The Golden Bears outrebounded the Colonels 41-30 and scored 20 points off Curry's 23 turnovers.
• Western New England's 39 points allowed matches its fewest this season. The Golden Bears also held Worcester State to 39 points in a 64-39 victory back on November 22.
• Western New England improves to 3-0 against Curry this season with the win.
(Game Recap Courtesy of Western New England University Sports Information)
