SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Western New England University women's basketball team used a strong defensive performance to earn a 51-40 victory over Curry College on Thursday evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers

• Junior guard Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.) and senior guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the Western New England offense with 14 points each. Farrell, who turned in a 10-for-11 effort at the free throw line, also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds. O'Neill connected on 3-of-5 three-pointers while recording four assists and four boards.

• Sophomore forward Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) registered her second career double-double with ten points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

• Junior guard Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) led Curry with a game-high 19 points, eight rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Game Review

Curry, which trailed 37-30 heading into the fourth quarter, cut its deficit to four on the first possession of the period, as Irwin grabbed an offensive rebound in the paint and completed a three-point play. Another Irwin layup and free throw two minutes later brought the Colonels back to within two (39-37), but Curry would get no closer.

Orbann knocked down a jumper to make it a four-point game at the 6:32 mark, before connecting from beyond the arc with 4:28 remaining to extend Western New England's lead to seven (46-39). An O'Neill triple with 3:11 on the clock effectively sealed the contest as the Golden Bears claimed a ten-point advantage (49-39).

Western New England shot just 2-of-11 (18.2%) in the opening quarter and turned the ball over six times as the visitors held an 11-9 edge through ten minutes of play. The Golden Bears dominated the second period, however, limiting Curry to 1-of-17 shooting and outscoring the Colonels 18-2 to take a 27-13 lead at the break.

Irwin opened the third quarter with four straight points at the free throw line to get Curry back to within ten (27-17), and the junior drained a three-pointer at the 7:45 mark to close the gap to nine (29-20). Western New England was able to push its lead back to 14 (34-20) midway through the third, but the Colonels posted a 10-3 run over the remainder of the period to draw to within seven with ten minutes to play.

Notes

• Western New England limited Curry to 18.2 percent (12-of-66) shooting, including just 9.7 percent (3-of-31) from beyond the arc.

• The Golden Bears turned the ball over a season-high 21 times, leading to 14 Curry points.

• Western New England won the rebounding battle, 47-42, with Orbann (12) and Farrell (nine) leading the way.

 Up Next

Western New England (8-5, 4-2 CCC) will be on the road Saturday at the University of New England, while Curry (8-6, 4-3 CCC) travels to Eastern Nazarene for a 1:00 p.m. contest on Saturday.  

(Game Recap Courtesy of Western New England University Sports Information)