Owls Steal Past Elms in Record Fashion, 89-49

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State women's basketball snagged a school-record tying 37 steals as they topped Elms College, 89-49 in a non-conference tilt at the Woodward Center on Tuesday evening.

The Owls were led by senior forward Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass./Hampshire Reg.) who scored 23 points and recorded 11 steals.  Pond was 8-17 from the floor and 5-10 from long range and grabbed five rebounds in a fine all-around performance.   Westfield got 19 points and seven rebounds from Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester), and 13 points and five steals from Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.).

Westfield led just 14-13 after a closely played but sloppy first quarter, where the two teams combined for 26 turnovers, 18 by the Elms.    The Owls broke it open in the second quarter, limiting the Blazers to just eight points, while Pond heated up, scoring 15 points in the quarter on 4-7 shooting from downtown.

The Blazers trailed 40-21 at the half, and limited the damage in the third to trail 63-42, but the Owls wore the Blazers down with the defensive pressure and pulled away late while substituting liberally.  All 17 active players played for the Owls, with 13 finding the scorebook.

Elms was led by 15 points from Rahmia Johnson (Newtown, Conn./St. Joseph's), who added 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Jade Lewis (Orlando, Fla.) added 10 points and five boards, and Jenny Gorski (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) grabbed 14 rebounds for the Blazers.

The Owls tied the mark for steals in a game, set in a game against Fitchburg State on Jan. 26, 2023.  The 53 forced turnovers are the third highest total in program history.  Pond's 11 steals matches the third-best single game total in Owls history, matching Melissa Gray who did it twice.  Gray also holds the single-game record with 14 in a game.

Westfield improves to 5-2 on the season, Elms dips to 2-4.

The Owls will break for Thanksgiving before returning to action on Thursday, Dec. 5 at Emerson College in Boston.   Elms will next host Wellesley on Tuesday, Dec. 3.