Springfield Holds off Women’s Basketball, 51-40

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Springfield College women's basketball team closed out the third quarter with a 10-0 run and went on to post a 51-40 win over Western New England University on Tuesday night in non-conference action at Blake Arena.

Top Performers
Western New England was led by senior forward Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.), who scored a game-high 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, to go with a 5-for-6 effort from the free throw line. Orbann also secured four rebounds in the setback.

Senior forward Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) contributed eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Springfield senior guard Alex Goslin (South Windsor, Conn.) registered a double-double with a team-high 15 points and a game-high 12 boards. Senior guard Emily Jacques (Auburn, Maine) also scored in double figures with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

Game Review
Trailing 7-6 after Goslin completed a three-point play with 4:32 left in the opening quarter, the Golden Bears put together a 7-0 run fueled by five points from Orbann to pull ahead 13-7.

Orbann connected from long range midway through the second period to extend Western New England's lead to seven (22-15), and the Golden Bears held their largest lead of the night (24-16) after Orbann sank a pair of free throws with 3:09 left in the half. The Pride closed out the frame with an 8-0 run, however, to pull even at the break.

The Golden Bears, who trailed by a point (32-31) following an Orbann triple with 3:45 to play in the third quarter, fell victim to a 10-0 Springfield run the rest of the way as the home team opened up a 42-31 advantage heading into the fourth.

Western New England cut into its deficit with a 6-0 spurt to open the fourth quarter, closing the gap to five (42-37) with 4:03 on the clock. Orbann got it started with a three-pointer and Carlson knocked down a pair of free throws, before sophomore Grace Fisher (Rocky Hill, Conn.) went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to cap the run.

Springfield answered with five straight points to extend its lead back into double figures, however, putting the game out of reach.

Notes
• Western New England was limited to 27.9 percent (12-of-43) shooting, and the Golden Bears committed 17 turnovers.
• Orbann is averaging 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game through two contests this season.

Up Next
Western New England (1-1) returns to action this weekend with two games at the UMass Dartmouth Lafrance Hospitality Invitational. The Golden Bears open the tournament against the Corsairs on Saturday at 5 p.m. Springfield (2-0) faces Montclair State at the Trinity College Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night.