WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior forward Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) scored a career-high 36 points to fuel an Owls offense to a season high in points as Westfield defeated Fitchburg State 117-60 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. on Wednesday night.
The Owls improve to 14-8 on the season and 5-3 in the conference while the Falcons fall to 3-19 on the year and 0-7 in the MASCAC.
Westfield approached and topped several single-game records in tonight's contest, starting with a 117-point effort which was nine points shy of the current program record of 126 points. The Owls also tied their program high mark in forced turnovers (57) and steals (37) in a single game, both records that were set earlier in the year. The Owls also caught fire from beyond the arc, connecting on a season-high 13 triples to accelerate their scoring efforts.
Six of the Owls 13 three-pointers came in the first quarter where Westfield managed to build up an early double-digit lead. Caroline Galvani (Framingham, Mass.) ripped the cords with three triples in the quarter alone to tie Grant with nine points in the opening ten minutes. Four straight points from Grant gave Westfield a 35-14 lead before Fitchburg tallied the next six points to close the frame with the Owls ahead 35-20.
The Owls used an 11-0 run midway through the second quarter to stretch the lead up to 24 points after a layup from Grant with 2:01 left gave them a 53-29 advantage. Westfield took a 21-point lead into halftime as Grant led the Owls with 18 points and five rebounds.
Westfield continued to stretch the lead in the second half, using a 13-2 run out of the break to increase the lead to 32 points where they would ultimately put the game out of reach.
Grant topped the 30-point scoring mark for the second time this season and first since the season-opener where she tallied 31 points in a 91-75 win at Rivier. Her 36-point career high in scoring past her previous mark of 34 which she set in December of 2022 in an 88-70 victory over SUNY Cobleskill. Grant also logged a double-double, registering ten rebounds.
Galvani recorded a season-high 14 points, knocking down four triples. Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) scored 15 points and generated six steals, while Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) entered double figures with 11 points. Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass.) was all over the defensive end of the floor, swiping a game-high seven steals for the Owls while also adding six assists and nine points.
Senior Rylie Harlow (Hanson, Mass.) scored a team-high 24 points for the Falcons. Alexis DeSimone (Ashburnham, Mass.) followed with seven points. Stephanie Hart (Shirley, Mass.) pulled down 15 rebounds and increased her prolific offensive rebounding numbers, securing seven offensive rebounds as one of the top rebounders in Division III.
Westfield State will have the weekend off as they prepare for an impactful conference matchup against current conference-leading Bridgewater State (15-6, 7-1 MASCAC) on the road on Wednesday at 7:30 P.M. Fitchburg State will host the Bears on Saturday at 2:00 P.M. before the Owls and Bears meet.