WESTFIELD, Mass. - Olivia Hadla scored 23 points and Jordan Grant added 22 for Westfield State women's basketball, as the Owls rallied past McMurry (Tex.) University, 84-76 in the first game of the Puerto Rico Clasico in Guaynabo, P.R. on Friday afternoon.
Westfield trailed the War Hawks by as many as 11 points in the first half and trailed 61-55 entering the decisive fourth quarter.
The cumulative effect of the Owls pressing defense appeared to wear down the War Hawks, which played just eight players, while the Owls rotated through 14 players with their system attack.
After trailing by a few points nearly the entire game, the Owls tied the game at 69-all with six minutes left to play on a steal on the press that led to a Jordan Grant layup to tie the game.
The Owls grabbed their first lead since the first quarter when Jordyn Lummus snagged a steal on the press, then worked the give and go with Maddie Pond, with Pond feeding Lummus for the layup and a 73-71 Owls advantage with 4:20 left in the game.
Pond delivered the knockout blow a couple of series later, with a dagger 3 from the right side of the arc, to give Westfield a 76-73 lead with 3:45 left that the Owls would not relinquish.
Westfield forced several more turnovers, and Olivia Hadla went 4-4 from the line to boost the lead to 80-73 with 3:20 left, and the Owls hung on down the stretch for the win, connecting on 8 of 10 free throws in the critical stretch to preserve the win.
Westfield improves to 6-6 with the victory, while McMurry slips to 10-3. Westfield will be back in action at the Clasico tomorrow morning, with a 9:00 a.m. tip against the University of Rochester.
Westfield forced 24 turnovers from McMurry, which Westfield converted into 24 points. The Owls outscored the War Hawks 29-16 in the fourth quarter. The Owls connected on 8 of 14 shots from the floor and 10 of 14 at the line in the final frame. WSU survived a slow shooting start as they connected on just 4 of 22 shots, and 1 of 12 from long range in the first period.
Grant finished 9-15 from the floor, and grabbed six boards. Hadla was just 6-17 shooting from the floor, and 8-15 at the foul line but was at her best in the fourth quarter. Pond added a solid all around game with 10 points, six assists and three steals. Lummus led the Owls with 10 rebounds from the point guard slot, and Octaviana Williams added eight boards and four steals.
McMurry was led by 18 points from Helena Chadwick. Kylie Flippin added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Hadla (888 career points) and Grant (837) are both are both edging up the Owls career scoring charts. Hadla moved into 21st place, passing Tracy Phaneuf '80, and Grant into 26th, passing Chelsea Moussette '20.