Western New England Uses Balanced Offensive Effort to Top Gordon, 88-64

O'Neill leads six Golden Bears in double-figures with season-high 18 points

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (December 3, 2016) – Six different players scored in double-figures as the Western New England University women's basketball team rolled to an 88-64 victory over Gordon College this afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
• Junior guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the way for the Golden Bears, scoring a game and season-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-4 from the free throw line. O'Neill also dished out a season-high six assists and grabbed a pair of rebounds while turning the ball over just twice.
• Senior forward Paige Young (Berlin, Conn.) registered her second double-double of the season with ten points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
• Senior forward Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) finished with 12 points and four boards, while freshmen Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.), Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) and Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) all posted ten-point efforts off the bench.

• Freshman guard Meghan Foley (Malden, Mass.) paced Gordon with eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
• Sophomores Olivia Stark (Arvada, Colo.) and Jess Ryan (Milford, N.H.) also scored eight points each for the Fighting Scots.

Game Review
• Western New England led by six (9-3) after Carlson knocked down a jumper just over four minutes into the contest. The Golden Bears were able to stretch their advantage into double-figures (18-7) as O'Neill connected on a jump shot with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
• Gordon cut its deficit to six (25-19) on a three-pointer by Stark early in the second quarter, but Western New England quickly restored its 11-point lead as Anderson hit a trey midway through the period. Her triple sparked a 12-0 run as the Golden Bears established a 41-21 cushion with 1:48 remaining in the half. Farrell scored four straight points heading into the break as Western New England took a 22-point lead (45-23) into halftime.
• The Golden Bears shot lights out in the third quarter, connecting on 9-of-10 field goals and holding their largest lead of 31 (58-27) after senior guard Sammie Battaini (Leominster, Mass.) knocked down 1-of-2 free throws midway through the period.
• Western New England's lead didn't fall below 21 the rest of the way, as the Golden Bears cruised to a 24-point triumph.

Notes
• The Golden Bears shot a season-best 55.9% (33-of-59) from the field, including 90% (9-of-10) in the third quarter.
• Western New England also held a commanding 42-21 rebounding advantage.
• The Golden Bears have won three straight games and four of five since dropping their season opener to Springfield in double overtime.
• O'Neill's 18 points are her most since scoring her career-high of 23 last February in a 70-62 win at Endicott. Her six assists are one shy of her career-high.

Up Next
Western New England (4-2, 2-0 CCC) remains at home to host Nichols on Tuesday night, while Gordon (2-4, 1-1 CCC) will be back on the road at Curry.