Women’s Basketball Moves into First Place with 53-42 win over University of New England

BIDDEFORD, Maine (January 18, 2020) – The Western New England University women's basketball team moved into first place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference standings with a 53-42 win over University of New England in a matchup between the top two teams in the conference on Saturday afternoon at the Harold Alfond Forum.

Top Performers
Leading the Golden Bears was junior guard Lauren Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine), scoring a career-high 15 points. Senior forward Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) scored 11 points. Senior guard Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.) added 10 points.

The Nor'easters were led by sophomore Abby Cavallaro (South Portland, Maine) and freshman Kaylee Beyor (South Burlington, Vt.), both scored 10 points.

Game Review
The Nor'easters took a quick 4-0 lead to begin the game before the Golden Bears tied it at 4-4 after two made free throws from Carlson. With the game tied at 8-8, U. of New England senior guard Sadie Nelson (Windham, Maine) made a layup to give the Nor'easters the 10-8 lead going into the second quarter. 

The Golden Bears came out strong to begin the second quarter, scoring the first six points to take a 14-10 lead. A layup by senior guard Alyssa Stefanelli (Chicopee, Mass.) pushed the Golden Bear lead to 18-13. The Nor'easters responded by going on a 6-0 run to take a 19-18 lead with 2:33 left in the first half. Baskets by Farrell and Carlson gave Western New England 23-19 lead going into halftime.

A 3-pointer by Chadwick with 7:11 left in the third quarter gave the Golden Bears a nine point, with the score at 34-25. Both teams traded baskets for the rest of the quarter. The Golden Bears took a 40-31 lead into the fourth quarter when sophomore guard Julia Quinn (Thomaston, Conn.) just before time expired.

Western New England took their largest lead of the night, 13 points, when Quinn made a jump shot to put the Golden Bears up 44-31. The Golden Bear defense held them at bay for the rest of the game, ultimately grabbing a 53-42 win over top-ranked U. of New England.

Notes
• Western New England is now in first place in the CCC standings.
• Western New England has won three straight games and six of their last seven games.

Up Next
Western New England (13-3) returns home on Wednesday evening as they take on Curry. U. of New England (12-4) will play Gordon on Wednesday evening.