Top-Seeded Westfield State Ends Golden Bears' Season in ECAC Quarterfinals, 68-62

WESTFIELD, Mass.--Western New England University outshot Westfield State University by 100 percentage points and had three starters in double figures, but the top-seeded Owls were able to fend off the visiting Golden Bears, 68-62, in the quarterfinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference New England Championship Tournament on Wednesday evening in the Woodard Center. Western New England ends its season at 17-11 while host Westfield State advances to the ECAC's regional final four with a school-record-tying 23-5 worksheet.

Senior captain Sam McCann made 7-of-8 field goal attempts to lead WNE with 17 points in her final appearance in a royal blue and gold uniform. Junior Chelsea Vujs added 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots, four assists and three steals, while freshman Dorothy O'Neill netted 14 points to go along with a career-best seven rebounds and four assists. McCann ends her collegiate career with personal records this season of 10.3 points per game, 5.0 rebounding average, 23 assists and 16 steals. She also ranks second in the Commonwealth Coast with a .467 field goal percentage (122-261).

Western New England posted its best won-lost record since the 2007-08 squad went 18-11.

Westfield's senior guard Jen Ashton led all scorers with 18 points, plus she had five rebounds, six assists and three steals. Jill Valley made 16 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line, and she had four assists, three steals. Junior center Forbasaw Nkamebo contributed 10 points.

Western New England took a 29-28 halftime lead on the strength of strong field goal shooting, making 12-for-22 attempts for 54.5 percent. The Owls, who shot just 30 percent from the floor in the opening stanza, got 10 first-half points from Valley. The Golden Bears also benefitted from solid ball movement, picking up assists on 10 of 12 first-half buckets.

With the score tied at 36-all, Westfield State got back-to-back layups from Nkamebo, and a jumper from sophomore guard Kirsy Segarra to build a six-point lead with 14 minutes and 41 seconds to play in the second half.

The Owls extended the lead to nine before WNE rallied. The Golden Bears gnawed the lead back down to one, 54-53 on a three-pointer by O'Neil with 7:29 left.

Westfield quickly extended the lead back out to nine points by forcing several turnovers, and Ashton scored three straight layups to cap a 10-2 run that gave the Owls a 64-55 lead with 2:19 to play.

Freshman center Rebecca Sapouckey drew a start and added nine points and seven rebounds for the Owls, who shot 38.5 percent from the field (25-65) for the game. Ashton roared to life in the second half, scoring 14 points as the Owls improved to .457 field goal percentage over the final 20 minutes.

Western New England's Achilles heel was 22 turnovers that translated to 23 Owls points compared to nine for the Golden Bears off 10 WSU turnovers. Westfield also outscored WNE in the paint, 34-20. and had a 14-3 advantage in second-chance points.

The Owls advance to the semifinals, and will face fifth-seeded Keene State College, a mild 61-58 upset winner over #4 Norwich University tonight. Time, date and site for the next game will be announced tomorrow.

#Play4Jody

(Editor's note: Westfield State contributed to this game recap.)