Owls Blaze Past MCLA, 95-32

WESTFIELD, Mass.  – Westfield State senior guard Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) scored 24 points and grabbed nine steals to power the Owls to a 95-32 win over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in a MASCAC women's basketball game at the Woodward Center on Saturday afternoon.

Westfield improves to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the MASCAC, while MCLA is now 4-10, 1-1 in the league.

The Owls used their pressing defense to run out to a 55-12 halftime advantage.  Westfield forced 29 turnovers in the first half (and 43 for the game).  The Owls limited the Trailblazers to just 16 shots from the floor in the half.

Hadla did most of her damage in the first half, connecting on six of nine three-point tries before the break.  She continues to close in on the 1000-point mark, sitting with 945 career points, good for 19^th on the Owls career scoring list.

Westfield got 15 points from Jordan Grant (Gray, ME/Gray-New Gloucester), 11 from Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass./Douglas), and 10 from Hannah Sheldon (Taunton, Mass./Norton).   Owls senior point guard Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.) had a strong all-around game with seven points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals.

Westfield caught fire from behind the three-point arc, connecting on 17 of 42 shots  (40.5) from long range.

MCLA was led by 14 points and 10 rebounds from Kristie Zator (Windham, Conn.). Zator shot 6-12 from the floor and 2-6 from long range.   Hailey Peabody (West Springfield, Mass.) added eight pints and Maddie Teta had five points and five assists for the Trailblazers.

Westfield will hit the road on Wednesday for a conference game at Worcester State with a 5:30 p.m. tip, while MCLA will travel to Bridgewater State for a league tilt at the same time.