Western New England Overcomes Slow Start in 60-52 Win over Nichols

Carlson posts first career double-double with 16 points & 11 rebounds

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 10, 2018) – The Western New England University women's basketball team used a 10-0 fourth quarter run to help overcome a slow start in a 60-52 win over Nichols College on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center. 

Top Performers
• Sophomore forward Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) posted her first career double-double with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
• Classmate Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) turned in a strong all-around effort with 14 points, eight boards, four steals and two assists.
• Junior Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) contributed nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals, while senior captain Dorothy O'Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) and freshman forward Emily Scurka (Billerica, Mass.) added eight points each.

• Nichols was led by freshman guard Shannon St. Lawrence (Milton, N.H.), who registered a double-double with a team-high 14 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and one assist.
• Senior Allison Cerrato (Rockland, Mass.) scored nine points, while senior Brooke Packard (Dudley, Mass.) and freshman Beth Laing (Sparta, N.J.) chipped in with eight each.

Game Review
After struggling in the first half, Western New England was able to gain some separation in the third quarter.

The Golden Bears, who trailed by three early in the frame, pulled ahead (30-29) when Scurka made two free throws at the 6:28 mark. Consecutive layups by Orbann midway through the quarter made it a five-point game (34-29), and Western New England eventually extended its advantage to ten (41-31) on another Orbann layup that capped a 15-2 run with 2:45 to play in the period.

The Bison began to chip away at their deficit, as the visitors closed to within six (43-37) at the conclusion of the third quarter, before pulling even (49-49) with the help of a 12-6 run over the first 3:31 of the final period.

Western New England took control from there, scoring the next ten points, including a trey from Gilhool with 4:21 remaining that gave the Golden Bears the lead (52-49) for good.

Western New England got off to a slow start, as Nichols led 12-6 with 2:36 remaining in the first quarter following back-to-back three-pointers by Packard and St. Lawrence. . 

The Bison led by the same margin (23-17) when Packard drained a trey with 2:43 left in the half. O'Neill hit a three of her own on Western New England's next possession, sparking a 7-0 run that culminated in a Gilhool steal and layup that put the Golden Bears ahead 24-23 with 13 seconds remaining.

Freshman forward Desiree Rivera (Windham, Conn.) made a layup at the buzzer, however, as Nichols claimed a 25-24 edge at the break.

Notes
• Western New England scored 26 points off 27 Nichols turnovers.
• Carlson is shooting 70.8 percent (17-of-24) from the field over the last two games.
• The Golden Bears shot 40 percent (14-of-35) in the second half, after connecting on 35.4 percent (11-of-31) of their shots in the first half.

Up Next
Western New England (15-8, 11-5 CCC) travels to Wentworth on Tuesday, while Nichols (3-20, 1-15 CCC) returns home to host Eastern Nazarene.