Big Rally Falls Short, Owls Fall to WNE 80-75

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State's rally from a 17-point first half deficit fell just short, as the Owls fell to local rival Western New England, 80-75 in a cross-town non-conference game on Saturday afternoon.

Westfield trailed 42-25 with 50 seconds left to play in the second quarter after an old-fashioned three-point play from WNE's Emma Elrod.

Westfield shot just 10-35 (28.6 percent) from the floor in the first half.

The second half was a different story, as the Owls ratcheted up their defensive pressure, forcing eight Golden Bears turnovers, the last of which on a steal by Jordan Lummus that led to a Lindsay Bohenko three-pointer as the clock ran out in the quarter, which gave Westfield a 54-53 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Westfield (6-5) built the lead in the fourth quarter to as many as four, at 59-55 on an Octaviana Williams layup with 7:47 left in the game.

The Owls trailed 69-68 after Jess Gardner's layup with 1:08 left to play, but WNE's Lindsay Carey delivered a dagger three-pointer on the next possession to give the Bears a four-point lead with 47 seconds left, and WNE sank 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.

Westfield was led by 24 points from Olivia Hadla, who was 9-18 from the floor and 2-6 from three-point range.   Jordan Grant added 13 points and nine rebounds, and Gardner added 11 points to lead the second unit.

Shaina Cooney and Emma Kahn each scored 17 to lead the Golden Bears (4-6).

Westfield has one more game before the winter break.  Westfield will host SUNY-Cobleskill in a non-conference game at the Woodward Center on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 7:00 p.m.