Women's Basketball Falls at WNE

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Courtney Carlson scored 24 points to lead Western New England to an 86-68 win over Westfield State in a non-conference women’s basketball game at the Alumni Healthful Living Center on Thursday evening.

Alyssa Camara rushes the ball upcourt against Salem. (Jeff Mate photo)
Alyssa Camara rushes the ball upcourt against Salem. (Jeff Mate photo)
January 2, 2020
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Courtney Carlson scored 24 points to lead Western New England to an 86-68 win over Westfield State in a non-conference women's basketball game at the Alumni Healthful Living Center on Thursday evening.
 
Westfield (3-8) led 22-21 at the end of a tightly contested first quarter. The Owls' Siobhan Moriarty hit a three pointer late in the period to give the Owls the lead at the intermission.  Westfield was 5-10 from behind the arc in the quarter.
 
Western New England (8-2) used a big second quarter to lead 49-33 at the half.   The Golden Bears used a 14-0 run in the middle stages of the second quarter to extend the lead, leading 40-25 after a Megan Orbann free throw with 3:56 left in the half.
 
The Owls were saddled with foul trouble early in the quarter, as Melissa Gray, Jenn Rennich and Lauren Legere were all forced to the bench with three fouls apiece.   Total fouls in the first half saw the Owls on the wrong end of a 17-9 margin.
 
Carlson had 12 points in the opening half to lead the Golden Bears, while Rennich, Legere and Jordan Halgas each had four for the Owls, whose two-platoon system rotations were disrupted by the foul problems.
 
Westfield got back into rhythm in the third period, getting a layup from Chelsea Moussette, then a steal from Alison Mendel and a Gray three pointer to cut the lead to 11 just 39 seconds into the third quarter.
 
An Alyssa Camara layup for the Owls on a drive trimmed the lead to 62-55 with 1:15 left in third, and the Golden Bears held a 63-57 lead to after three quarters.
 
The Golden Bears extended the lead to 69-57 with a pair of Orbann layups sandwiched around a Lauren Chadwick layup, forcing an Owls' timeout less than two minutes into the fourth.  WNE extended the lead to 79-63 on an Emily Farrell layup with 5:04 left.
 
Moussette led Westfield with 13 points and four assists, while Camara added 11 points.  Westfield leading scorer Melissa Gray fouled out with eight points in just 15 minutes of play while battling foul trouble all night.
 
WNE finished 34-70, 48.6 percent from the floor and 17-29 at the foul line. Orbann added 16 points and 17 rebounds, while Alyssa Stefanelli chipped in with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Westfield State will be back in action on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. start against Worcester Polytechnic Institute at the Woodward Center.