Golden Bears Extend Winning Streak to Five with 68-55 Victory over Eastern Nazarene

Farrell leads Western New England with 16 points, O'Neill adds 15

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 20, 2018) – The Western New England University women's basketball team extended its winning streak to five games with a 68-55 victory over Eastern Nazarene College on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center. 

Top Performers
• Sophomore guard Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.) led the Golden Bears with a team-high 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line to go with four assists, two steals and one rebound.
• Senior guard Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) added 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal, while sophomore forward Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) contributed eight points, ten rebounds and four assists.

• Eastern Nazarene freshman guard Seniesha Sekaquaptewa (Scottsdale, Ariz.) carried the Lions offensively with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go with three steals and two rebounds.
• Senior forward Michelle Detwiler (Elkhart, Ind.) chipped in with six points and eight rebounds.

Game Review
The Golden Bears, who held Eastern Nazarene to just 15 points in the first half on their way to a 16-point advantage at the break, claimed a 22-point lead (37-15) after O'Neill and Farrell opened the third quarter with consecutive three-pointers.

The Lions were able to cut their deficit to 16 (43-27) when senior Shelby Holmes (Seeley Lake, Mont.) made 1-of-2 free throws with 3:16 left in the third, but the visitors trailed by 19 (46-27) heading into the fourth quarter.

Eastern Nazarene battled back into the game with a barrage of late three-pointers, including a triple by junior Alyssa Cosio Murillo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) that made it an eight-point game (60-52) with 2:02 remaining. The Lions would get no closer, however, as Western New England sealed the win at the free throw line.

The Golden Bears limited Eastern Nazarene to 16.7 percent shooting (2-of-12) in the first quarter and led 13-5 after ten minutes of play. Juniors Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) and Caroline Niland (Waltham, Mass.) both connected from beyond the arc in the opening frame and O'Neill contributed three points to help Western New England establish an early eight-point advantage.

The Golden Bears stretched their lead to 16 (21-5) with an 8-0 run to start the second quarter, before Eastern Nazarene snapped its three and a half minute scoring drought with a layup by senior Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.) at the 7:26 mark. Western New England held three separate 18-point leads in the period on its way to a 31-15 advantage at halftime.

Notes
• The Golden Bears outrebounded the Lions 41-28 and scored 22 points off 17 Eastern Nazarene turnovers.
• With Saturday's win, Western New England earned its first season sweep against Eastern Nazarene since the 2012-13 campaign. The Golden Bears lost both meetings last season and entered this year with a 3-6 record in their last nine games against the Lions.
• Gilhool recorded five points, five assists, six rebounds and three steals.

Up Next
Western New England (12-5, 7-2 CCC) will be back in action next Wednesday with a key CCC matchup at Roger Williams, while Eastern Nazarene (8-9, 2-8 CCC) returns home to host Salve Regina.