MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College women's basketball team suffered a 57-43 setback to visiting Western New England University on Saturday afternoon in conference play. With the win, the Golden Bears move to 16-7 overall and a 12-4 mark in the CCC. The Colonels fall to 9-14 overall and 7-9 in league play.
The Golden Bears wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, building an early 6-0 advantage on back-to-back three pointers by Sammie Olson (Tolland, Conn.) and Sammie Battaini (Leominster, Mass.). Western New England maintained the six point advantage until almost halfway through the first quarter until Erica Ulrich (Westminster, Mass.) knocked down a three ball to make the score, 12-7.
The Golden Bear lead would reach eight points with 3:19 to go in the first but Curry began to chip away at the deficit. Threes by Sam Bamford (Easton, Mass) and Paige Senatore (Ayer, Mass.) helped the Colonels cut the deficit to five (18-13) with 2:48 left in the opening stanza. Curry would then trim the lead to just four at the end of the first quarter, 22-18.
Western New England began to pull away in the second quarter as they built a 10 point lead with 2:08 left in the half on a layup by Paige Young (Berlin, Conn.). They added to their lead before heading into the locker room, pushing it to 13 on a three-pointer by Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.). The Golden Bears limited the Colonels to just six points in the second quarter as Western New England entered the locker room at the half with a 37-24 advantage.
The strong play for Western New England would continue in the third quarter as their lead would reach as many as 18 points. Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) converted a jump shot at the end of the quarter to make the deficit 16 at 46-30.
The lead for the Golden Bears would be pushed back to 18 at the beginning of the final quarter of play following two free throws by Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.). Curry was able to trim the deficit once again, getting the lead down to as little as 14 after a layup by Bamford with 4:46 left in regulation.
Western New England was able to maintain at least a 14 point lead for the rest of the contest and captured the contest by a 57-43 final score.
Reigning CCC Player of the Week Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) posted a game-high 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting. The sophomore also added two rebounds, four assists and one steal. Bamford was the next closest to scoring in double figures. The freshman put up nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Golden Bears were led by Young, who finished the contest with a team-high 11 points. She finished one rebound away from a double-double. Anderson chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. O'Neill and Battaini added nine and eight points each, respectively.
Western New England had the edge in shooting percentage on the afternoon. The Golden Bears shot 37.7% from the field compared to 28.1% by the Colonels. The visitors knocked down 36.4% of their three point opportunities and had the edge at the free throw line as well. Curry was able to win the turnover battle, committing one less than Western New England (18-17) and then outscored the visitors in the paint by a 24-22 final tally.
Curry returns to the hardwood on Wednesday when they head to Wentworth for a 5:30 p.m. start. Western New England will return home Wednesday to host Roger Williams at the same time.
