WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State juniors' Jordan Grant (Grey, Maine) and Jess Gardner (Webster, Mass.) both scored in double figures to lead the Owls to a 77-31 rout over Plymouth State on Saturday afternoon from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.
The Owls (2-0) open the season with a pair of home victories this week, handling the Panthers by a margin of 46 points after topping Keene State by 11 on Tuesday night. Plymouth State drops to 1-1 after the loss.
Both offenses struggled out of the gate in the opening quarter, but a 10-0 Westfield run midway through the quarter, capped off by a Grant triple, put the Owls up 12. From that point forward, Westfield would only build on their lead.
Westfield dominated play in the second quarter, outscoring the Panthers 25-5 in the period to push the Owls lead to 30 at halftime. Westfield outscored Plymouth 32-16 in the second half.
Grant led all scorers with 19 points on an efficient eight makes in 12 attempts. She also supplied four rebounds and two blocks. Gardner was the second Owls player in double figures, adding 13 points (5-9 FG) and totaling a team-high eight rebounds. The Owls got balanced scoring from the rest of the team with Lindsey Bohenko (Lowell, Mass.), Mia-Angelina Leslie (Lewiston, Maine) and Hannah Sheldon (Taunton, Mass.) recording nine points each.
The swarming Owls defense was at it again this afternoon, forcing 33 Panthers' turnovers which led to 31 points for Westfield. Junior Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.) registered a game-high five steals. The Owls also got out on the break with effectiveness, tallying 18 fast break points to Plymouth's four.
Junior guard Sabrina Vlahovic (New Hope, Pa.) led the Panthers with seven points. Sophomore Autumn Nelson (Ware, N.H.) followed with six points and tacked on seven rebounds. Junior Lauren Keller (Fort Morgan, Colo.) recorded a game-high nine rebounds.
Both teams struggled from the field in the game, with the Owls connecting on 29 makes in 73 attempts (39.7%) and Plymouth totaling nine makes on 54 shots (16.7%). Westfield made 18.8% of their three-pointers (6-32) while the Panthers found the bottom of the net on two of 18 triples (11.1%).
Westfield State travels to MIT for their first road game of the season on Tuesday at 7:00 P.M. Plymouth hosts Rivier University on Tuesday at 5:30 P.M.