Bertini Collects 350th Win as Owls Zap Lasell, 79-61

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State ran out to a 26-6 first quarter lead and never looked back as the Owls posted a 79-61 non-conference women's basketball win over Lasell University at the Woodward Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls had four players score in double figures, led by 19 from Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass./Hampshire Reg.).    Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine/ Gray-New Gloucester) added 14 points, Caroline Galvani (Framingham, Mass.) 12 and Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) 10.

Westfield improves to 7-3 on the season while Lasell is now 4-5.   The win is the 350^th of Owls coach Andrea Bertini's collegiate coaching career.  Bertini passed 300 wins at Westfield State earlier this season.

The Lasers were led by 18 points and six rebounds from Kiara Cerutti (Canton, Mass.), with Shirle Major  (Worcester, Mass.) adding 10 points and seven rebounds.    Laura Johnson (Groton, Conn.) snared a game-high 11 boards for Lasell.

Westfield's pressure defense keyed the win, forcing 30 turnovers that the Owls turned into 37 points.  Westfield led by as many as 39 points early in the second half

Pond shot 6-10 in the game, including 5-8 from behind the three-point arc.   Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass./Douglas) and Tavi Williams (Springfield, Mass./Minnechaug) led the Owls with four assists each, and Jess Gardner (Wesbter, Mass./Hoy Name) grabbed nine rebounds and three steals.

Hadla moves into 10^th on the Owls all-time scoring list with 1,240 points, passing AJ Labelle '02 (1,231).  Grant sits 13^th with 1,218 points, just one behind Forbasaw Nkamebo on the Owls career list.

Westfield takes next week off for finals before finishing the fall semester schedule with a road trip to Reading, Pa. next Friday to face Albright University, a game that was added to the schedule late when the Owls lost a pair of conference games just before the season began.