Western New England Extends Winning Streak to Seven with 53-37 Win at Salve Regina

Golden Bears outscore Seahawks 17-4 in 2^nd quarter en route to 19-point halftime lead

NEWPORT, R.I. (February 5, 2019) – The Western New England University women's basketball team built a 19-point halftime lead and cruised to a 53-37 victory over Salve Regina University on Tuesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Rodgers Recreation Center.

Top Performers
Western New England received strong contributions from its starting unit, led by junior forward Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.), who recorded 14 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two assists.

Senior guard Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) turned in a solid all-around effort with nine points, eight boards, three blocks, two assists and two steals, while junior Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.) finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Junior forward Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) added 11 points and eight boards (six offensive) for the Golden Bears.

Salve Regina junior guard Torie Scorpio (Cranston, R.I.) paced the Seahawks with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Game Review
Carlson scored the first four points of the contest for the Golden Bears, who led 10-6 following a layup by Salve Regina senior guard Kerri Beland (Attleboro, Mass.) just past the midpoint of the first quarter.

Western New England scored the next five points to stretch its advantage to nine (15-6), but the Seahawks were able to get to within six (15-9) on a Scorpio layup in the closing seconds of the frame.

The Golden Bears took control of the contest in the second quarter, when they outscored Salve 17-4 and held the home team to just 16.7 percent shooting.

Still leading by six (19-13) after Salve senior Lauryn Becker (Hanover, Mass.) made a layup with 5:45 left in the half, Western New England outscored the Seahawks 13-0 the rest of the way to open up a 32-13 cushion at the break.

Carlson fueled the surge, scoring seven straight points before Orbann knocked down a three-pointer with 1:05 to play. A free throw by Gilhool followed by an Orbann layup capped the run for the Golden Bears.

Salve battled back into the contest in the third quarter, as the Seahawks closed the gap to 11 (37-26) after Beland connected from long range with 2:34 on the clock.

Western New England never let its lead fall below 11 the rest of the way, however, as the Golden Bears withstood Salve's fourth quarter rally and held on for the win.

Notes
• The Golden Bears turned in another impressive defensive performance, limiting Salve Regina to just 27.8 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent from long range.
• Western New England outrebounded Salve 46-31.
• Carlson, Farrell, Orbann & Gilhool accounted for 46 of Western New England's 53 points.
• Western New England's seven-game winning streak is its longest since the 2016-17 campaign, when the Golden Bears won nine straight from November 22-January 7.

Up Next
Western New England (16-7, 10-4 CCC) is off until next Wednesday, when the Golden Bears host Endicott in their regular season home finale. Salve Regina (9-14, 5-9 CCC) travels to Gordon on Saturday.