Four Falcons Score in Double Figures to Edge Women's Basketball

SPRINGFIELD (November 17, 2022) – The Western New England women's basketball team were defeated by the Albertus Magnus College Falcons at home for a final score of 73-61.

Records:

• Western New England: 1-4
• Albertus Magnus College: 2-0

How It Happened: The Golden Bears opened the game by winning the jump then had a 6-0 run due to a layup from Colleen Furlong and one from Abby Garaban, then a jump shot put in by Lindsey Carey. WNE laid in two more baskets before Albertus tied up the ball game 10-10 with 1:34 left in the first quarter. Furlong knocked in a jumper for the Golden Bears under a minute, and Lindsay Orbann with a nice cut to the basket for two more and the Golden Bears led 14-10 entering the second quarter.

The first minute of the quarter quickly became a back-and-forth basketball game. The Falcons hit the first bucket of the second. The Golden Bears answered with a fast break trip to the hoop from Emma Novajasky. Shortly after, Albertus had the game all tied up, 16-16. The Golden Bears went back up by one before the Falcons took their first game lead with eight straight points in a row, 25-17. Paige Winter shot in a three-pointer for WNE for the first Golden Bear basket in three minutes of play. Shaina Cooney and Caitlyn Hunt hit layups and had it a one-point game again, 25-24. Albertus worked their way back to a seven-point lead a little over a minute remaining in the half, 35-28. Carey kept WNE only down by five with a layup in the final seconds 38-33.

An And 1 play, a made basket and a foul shot, from the Falcons began the second half before the two teams traded layups each way. A three-point shot, a pair of free-throws, and a layup had Albertus ahead by double digits. The Golden Bears had almost a three-minute scoreless run until Novajasky put one in on the foul line with 5:02 remaining in the third. WNE with some great defensive stops, broke the double-digit margin, a three from Garaban for the last score of the quarter. The Golden Bears still down 53-44.

A Jumper and three were the first made baskets for the Falcons in quarter four. The Golden bears knocked in two foul shots two minutes into the fourth, 60-46. Albertus hit a foul shot before Emma Kahn shot in a three, and two free-throws from Garaban to return it to a 10-point ballgame. There were some competitive plays and a Carey three made it a close game just under four minutes, 63-55. Some foul shots took the Falcons back up into a double-digit lead and they maintained it until the finale of the game. They defeated the Golden Bears 73-61 after four quarters of action.

On the Court:

• As a team, the Golden Bears shot 37.7 percent from the paint, 22.2 percent from three-point line, 68.8 percent from the foul line, while gathering 40 rebounds, 17 assists, four steals, three blocks
• The Falcons had 41.0 percent from the floor, 28.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 67.9 percent from the free throw line while grabbing 30 rebounds, 11 assists, nine steals, and four blocks.
• The Golden Bears were led by Lindsey Carey who had 21 points and six rebounds. She went 8-18 from inside the arc, and 4-4 from the foul line.
• Abby Garaban added 9 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Caitlyn Hunt pulled down 10 rebounds in the ball game.

Up Next: The Golden Bears return to the road for their next couple of games. They head to Eastern Connecticut State University Tuesday, November 22, for a 5:30 p.m. game time against the Warriors.