Box Score
WESTFIELD – Junior forward Ashley Finnegan (Worcester) had 22 points and eight rebounds to lead the Westfield State to a 73-68 victory over visiting Salem State in MASCAC women’s basketball Saturday, Jan. 16.
With the big victory Westfield snapped a four-game losing skid. Westfield improves to 7-8 overall and 1-2 in the conference while Salem drops to 8-5 and 1-1 in the conference
Finnegan led the hot shooting Owls by draining 7 of 8 field goal attempts in the first half; she ended the game 11-for-16. Westfield shot a blistering 54 percent from the field, but head coach Andrea Bertini said the No. 1 key to the victory was her team’s effort on the defensive end against a Salem front-court that featured 6-3 freshmen twins Brianna and Whitney Wilson (Lowell) and 5-11 senior center Danielle Jenkins (Marlborough).
“I felt we worked harder on the defensive end than we have all year. Everyone that came into the game gave 100 percent effort,” said Bertini.
Westfield State jumped out to a 21-13 first half lead on a Finnegan layup off a nice pass from freshman guard Briana Kelly (Hampden-Minnechaug), who posted a game-high seven assists along with seven points.
Westfield’s strong start was also aided by Salem’s poor shooting, as the Vikings were 2-for-15 from the field in the opening 10 minutes. Salem State shot just 37 percent from the field for the game.
Westfield State led 32-29 at halftime and came out strong in the second half, building its biggest lead of the game, 47-35, at the 13:37 mark on a 3 pointer by senior guard Krista Corriveau (Plainville, CT).
But Salem fought back and closed within four, 59-55, at the 7:13 mark on two free throws by Jenkins, who finished with a game high 24 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Salem cut the lead to four points twice again, both in the game’s final minute. Westfield made its final field with 5:34 remaining, but junior center Cassy Jouannet (Conway/Frontier Regional) canned six key free throws down the stretch for the Owls.
Despite Salem State’s size advantage, the Owls out-rebounded the Vikings, 39-33. Salem State was only able to generate seven second-chance points.
Jouannet scored 17 points and senior guard Sarah Boudreau (Tewksbury) added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Briana Wilson (Lowell) had a strong game down low for Salem State with 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
Westfield State executed its offense well for most of the game as it tallied 21 assists on its 29 field goals. In an interesting statistic, the Owls recorded no steals.
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