Big Fourth Quarter Seals Western New England’s 67-57 Win over Eastern Connecticut

Farrell (21 points) & Orbann (18) lead Golden Bears

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 24, 2019) – The Western New England University women's basketball team shot 63.6 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to help seal a 67-57 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University on Thursday evening in non-conference action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
Western New England was led by the junior trio of Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.), Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) and Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.).

Farrell matched her career-high with 21 points, making 6-of-10 field goal attempts and 8-of-11 from the free throw line, while also recording seven assists, six rebounds and two steals.

Orbann connected on 4-of-5 three-point attempts on her way to an 18-point, three-rebound effort, and Carlson chipped in with 11 points and three boards.

Eastern Connecticut junior forward Mya Villard (Cromwell, Conn.) paced the visitors with 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists, while freshman guard Julie Keckler (Trumbull, Conn.) added ten points, five rebounds and two assists.

Game Review
Western New England spotted Eastern Connecticut an early 6-0 lead as the Golden Bears missed their first three shots and committed a pair of turnovers during the first two minutes of play.

Orbann got Western New England on the board with a jumper at the 7:20 mark, before knocking down consecutive three-pointers to get the Golden Bears within two (10-8).

A Carlson jumper with 2:17 to play in the opening frame knotted the contest at 12-12, and the score remained tied heading into the second quarter.

Western New England took its first lead (14-12) when freshman Grace Fisher (Rocky Hill, Conn.) made a pair of free throws early in the second. The Golden Bears went up six (18-12) following a Farrell layup with 5:43 left in the half, before taking a seven-point lead on an Emily Scurka (Billerica, Mass.) jumper with just under two minutes on the clock. The home team held a 28-20 advantage at the break as Carlson made a jumper in the final seconds.

Eastern Connecticut, which trailed by nine (33-24) following a Lauren Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) layup early in the third quarter, used an 8-0 run to close the gap to one at the 5:35 mark. The Warriors' surge started with a Keckler trey and culminated in a three-point play by Villard.

The visitors were able to tie the score on three occasions over the final 5:02 of the quarter, but Western New England never fell behind. The Golden Bears received a three-pointer from senior Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) and a late jumper from Fisher to take a five-point edge (44-39) into the fourth quarter.

Western New England kept Eastern Connecticut at bay with hot shooting over the final ten minutes.

Orbann made two three-pointers early in the frame, the second of which gave the Golden Bears a game-high 11-point lead (54-43) with 6:44 remaining.

Eastern stayed within striking distance, getting as close as three (56-53) after Keckler converted 1-of-2 free throws with 3:15 left in the contest.

The Golden Bears answered with a 6-0 run, however, to push their lead back to nine (62-53), and Western New England held off the Warriors down the stretch with the help of five Farrell free throws over the final 24 seconds.

Notes
• Western New England shot a season-high 50 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the arc.
• The Golden Bears, who dropped their first nine meetings with Eastern Connecticut, have now won two straight over the Warriors.
• Farrell, Orbann & Carlson combined for 50 of Western New England's 67 points.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England (12-7, 6-4 CCC) travels to Biddeford, Maine to take on the University of New England, and Eastern Connecticut (11-7, 6-3 LEC) returns home to host Plymouth State.