Golden Bears Top MCLA 79-61 for Fifth Straight Win Heading into Break

Farrell (14 points), Orbann (13) & Scurka (11) pace WNE offensively

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (December 8, 2018) – The Western New England University women's basketball team won its final game of the semester over the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 79-61, on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at Amsler Campus Center Gym.  

Top Performers
Western New England utilized a balanced offensive attack that featured a trio of double-figure scorers. Junior Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.) led the way with a team-high 14 points and six assists, while classmate Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) added 13 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Sophomore Emily Scurka (Billerica, Mass.) provided a spark off the bench with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and five rebounds in just ten minutes of action.

Junior Sydney Fisher (Strafford, N.H.) fell just shy of a double-double with nine points, nine boards and three assists.

For MCLA, junior guard Kylah Langston (East Hartford, Conn.) produced 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and a 6-of-8 effort from the charity stripe.

Senior guard Courtney Pingelski (Mechanicville, N.Y.) scored 13 points and collected four boards, while classmate Samantha Gawron (South Hadley, Mass.) recorded 13 points, five rebounds and two assists off the bench.

Game Review
Western New England, which led 21-14 after one quarter and 37-32 at halftime, broke the game open in the third period.

The Golden Bears scored the first six points of the quarter and led by nine (46-37) after Langston made 1-of-2 free throws at the 5:40 mark.

Orbann and Fisher canned consecutive three-pointers to make it 52-37, before a Scurka jumper gave Western New England a 54-37 advantage with three minutes remaining in the frame. Scurka scored five more points in the final minutes of the quarter as the Golden Bears opened up a 61-42 lead heading into the fourth.

Scurka stayed hot offensively early in the fourth quarter with a pair of layups that pushed Western New England's lead above 20 (65-44) for the first time.

The Golden Bears held their largest advantage of 24 (72-48) following a Lauren Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) triple with just under five minutes to go, before settling for an 18-point victory.

Notes
• Western New England shot 50% (30-of-60) from the field and 78.6% (11-of-14) from the free throw line.
• The Golden Bears have won four straight games by double-figures, and five straight contests overall.
• Farrell and Orbann lead WNE in scoring this season with 15.1 and 12.9 points per game, respectively.

Up Next
Western New England (8-2) resumes play on Thursday, January 3 at Endicott College, while MCLA (3-5) wraps up its semester schedule at home against Union on Monday.