WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State Athletics will host their annual Athletic Director's 3.0 Honor Roll and Reception in conjunction with Wednesday night's doubleheader of basketball action at the Woodward Center. Along with a great ceremony will be some big-time MASCAC matchups for men's and women's basketball as they battle Bridgewater State University.
At halftime of the women's basketball game, student-athletes who have posted at least a 3.0 GPA will be recognized. Athletic director Dick Lenfest and University president Ramon Torrecilha will speak during the presentation followed by a reception afterwards.
The women's basketball team will tip-off first at 5:30 P.M. as they look to clinch the second overall seed in the MASCAC conference with a win. The Owls are currently a game and a half ahead of the Bears for second place, and could lock down a first-round bye in the playoffs with a victory Wednesday night.
The last time the Owls and Bears squared off was a high-scoring affair at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater, Mass., where the Owls came away with the win 111-108 on January 18. In that game, the Owls had three players score in double figures; Melissa Gray (Peabody, Mass.) contributed 29 points, Isabella Aitken (Pittsfield, Mass.) had 20 points, and Chelsea Moussette (Southampton, Mass.) threw in a double-double of 18 points and 11 assists. For the Bears, they had a historic performance from junior center Destiny Fitzgerald, who netted a school-record 43 points along with 17 rebounds.
At 10-12 with a 7-2 conference record, the Owls are led by Gray, who is leading the nation in steals (105) and steals-per-game (4.77). Gray is also leading the conference in points-per-game at 20.6 and is fifth in three-point percentage at 35.7 percent. Moussette has also done her share fair contribution by ranking seventh in the nation in assists-per-game (6.3) and averaging a career-high 11.3 points-per-game this season.
On the other side, the Bears enter the game at 9-12 with a conference record of 5-3. the Bears have five players in the top 20 in points-per-game in the MASCAC conference and leading the charge is Fitzgerald with 13.9 points-per-game and eight rebounds-per-game. Fitzgerald is also third in the conference with a field-goal percentage of 51 percent. Senior guard Nicole Bostick has played well all year long for the Bears with a steady 10 points-per-game.
Once that game is over, another game with playoff implications is at stake on the men's side between Bridgewater State and Westfield State. The Owls are currently tied atop the MASCAC standings with MCLA and the Bears are only a few games back of those top two seeds as the regular season is coming to a close.
These two teams met on January 18 in Bridgewater and thanks to a career-high 35 points and 11 rebounds from senior guard Vawn Lord (West Springfield, Mass.), the Owls pulled away in the second half to win 96-82. Freshman Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) also contributed with 19 points and 10 rebounds and junior Justin Rennis (Springfield, Mass.) had 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench. The Bears got a great game from senior Ryan Carney, but his 25 points weren't enough to get the victory.
The Owls have been rolling as of late with three straight victories and six wins in their last seven games to reach 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the conference. Despite senior Jauch Green, Jr.'s (Hartford, Conn.) recent shooting struggles, Lord has picked up the slack averaging the third-best points-per-game in the conference at 18.1. Even though he is struggling, Green, Jr. is still in the top five in points-per-game at 17 and graduate Marcus Collins (Cambridge, Mass.) is doing his part with 10.7 points-per-game.
The Owls defense will be in for a tough task of limiting Carney, who is second in points-per-game in the MASCAC. Carney averages 21.2 points-per-game and is also a great distributor with the second-best assists-per-game at 3.8. Senior Dimitri St. Louis is averaging a near double-double of 17.6 points-per-game and 9.8 rebounds-per-game; both the fourth-highest in the conference. Also helping the cause is senior Rayshon Ward, who thanks to his 6-7 frame, has amounted 17 points-per-game and 10.4 rebounds-per-game.
Ticket prices for Westfield State home games are $6 for adults, and $3 for senior citizens and non-Westfield State students. Westfield State students, and children 12 and under are admitted free.
Those who can't make the game can get live video and stats on www.westfieldstateowls.com.
--Written by Joe Braverman, Sports Information Intern