Pierce pours in 20 points in Seahawks' road battle with Owls

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior Jill Valley (Orange / Mahar Regional) scored 21 points and made four steals as Westfield State University blazed past Salve Regina University, 86-58, in the women's basketball non-conference home opener at the Woodward Center on Tuesday night.

After a close first quarter, the Owls pulled away late in the second with a 20-6 spurt capped by an Alyssa Darling (Palmer, Mass.) three-pointer as time expired to lead 50-30 at the half.

Westfield maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half, never leading by less than 18 points.

Owls' sophomore Lucy Barrett (Williamstown / Mt. Greylock) added 12 points while Darling tallied 11 points.

As the Owls forced 41 Seahawk turnovers, senior Kirsy Segarra (Holyoke, Mass.) added defensive impact with four steals and five rebounds.

The Seahawks got a team-high 20 points from Liv Pierce (Tyngsboro, Mass.) who added seven rebounds. Torie Scorpio (Cranston, R.I. / La Salle Academy) netted 14 points and three assists while teammate Kerri Beland (Attleboro, Mass.) tallied 13 rebounds.

Valley shot 8-14 from the floor and made 1-3 three point attempts. With a career total of 989 points, the senior guard looks to score her 1,000 point next game.

The Owls made 22 steals and grabbed 29 offensive rebounds.

Westfield State improves to 3-1 on the season while Salve Regina is now 1-3.

The Owls will host Eastern Connecticut University on November 29 for a 7 p.m. match, while Salve Regina will host Western New England University Wednesday, November 30 at 5:30 p.m.