WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State University women's basketball team held on for a 56-53 victory over Mount Ida College in a non-conference game on Tuesday, Nov. 23.

The Owls, 4-1 overall, nearly let a 15-point lead slip away late in the game vs. the winless (0-4) Mustangs. In fact, it was a game of scoring runs as Mount Ida rallied from double digits in both halves.

Westfield jumped out to an 18-7 lead and led by 10, 29-19, with 1:43 remaining. But Mount Ida scored seven straight points to close out the first half and for a 29-26 Owl lead.

The Mustangs took their only lead of the game, 34-33, on a Katie Morvan (Northbridge) jumper with 17:45 left in the second half. Then with the score tied at 37 the Owls went on a 15-0 run for a 52-37 advantage with 8:18 remaining.

Sparking the 15-0 run was sophomore guard Courtney DelRatez (Adams/Hoosac Valley) who came off the bench to nail three 3-point baskets for her nine points in the game.

But the Owls went cold in the final eight minutes as they only made one field goal and two free throws.

Mount Ida went on its own scoring run (13-1) and 3-point shooting spree, with Alicia Ward canning two of the treys, to pull within three, 53-50, with 3:52 remaining. Westfield senior forward Ashley Finnegan (Worcester/Holy Name) then dropped in a big bucket on a fast break for a 55-50 Westfield lead with 52 seconds remaining.

Finnegan led Westfield with 12 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Angela Paterson (Nantucket) scored 10 points and senior center Cassy Jouannet (Conway/Frontier Regional) had nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Junior guard Janae Jones (Springfield/Minnechaug Regional) finished with six points, six assists and five steals.

Mount Ida junior guard Jeileen Rivera (Springfield/Central) posted game highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds; she also had a team-high four steals. Junior guard Shannon Wood (Gorham, Maine) finished with nine points and six assists and Morvan had eight points and eight boards.