Scorpio leads all players in scoring but Golden Bears win

NEWPORT, R.I. (February 1, 2020) – The Western New England University women's basketball team defeated Salve Regina University, 61-45, in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Saturday afternoon at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

The Golden Bears came out strong to begin the game. A layup by Carlson with 4:43 left in the first quarter gave Western New England a 13-1 lead. The Seahawks went on a 12-4 run over the remainder of the quarter to cut the Golden Bear lead down to four, with the score at 17-13 in favor of Western New England. Torie Scorpio (Cranston, R.I.) had nine of the dozen Seahawk points during their run.

A pair of free throws by senior guard Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) midway through the second quarter pushed the Golden Bear lead back up to 10, with Western New England leading 25-15. The Golden Bears and Seahawks traded baskets for the rest of the half, with a layup by Carlson with 0:31 remaining to give Western New England a 33-21 lead.

Western New England continued their strong performance, going on an 11-4 over the course of the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter to extend their lead to 17. A layup by Scorpio with 2:00 minutes remaining in the quarter the lead down to 11. Junior Lauren Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) answered with a made jump shot on the next play to make the score 48:35 in favor of the Golden Bears.

A layup by senior guard Alyssa Stefanelli (Chicopee, Mass.) with 6:52 remaining gave the Golden Bears their largest lead of the night, going up by 20 with the score at 59-39. The Golden Bear defense held strong down the stretch to secure the victory.

Series and Streaks
Western New England has won the last four meetings and leads the overall series, 18-10.

Three Stars of the Game

1. Golden Bear senior forward Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) led the way for the visitors with 21 points on 10-14 shooting from the field.
2. Seahawk senior guard Torie Scorpio (Cranston, R.I.) scored 22 points for the Seahawks.
3. Golden Bear senior forward Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.) added 13 points.

Quick Hits

• Western New England forced 18 turnovers.
• The Golden Bears grabbed 22 offensive rebounds, and had a 21 carom advantage for the game (53-32).
• Megan Henaghan (Whitman, Mass.) and Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) led their respective teams with nine rebounds apiece.
• Scorpio and Orbann were tops in assists with five dishes apiece.

Next Up
Western New England (15-4, 9-2 CCC) will host Gordon on Wednesday evening. Salve Regina (2-17) will start a three-game road trip on Wednesday evening at Roger Williams University.