Hadla Nets 29 Points, Owls Survive Saints Comeback With 79-74 Win

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior guard Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) scored a season-high 29 points and added six rebounds and three steals as the Owls held off a fourth quarter comeback effort from Emmanuel College to secure a 79-74 victory in a non-conference game on Saturday afternoon from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

The Owls improve to 6-3 on the season while the Saints drop to 3-4 overall. Hadla's 29 points tied for the second-highest mark in her career as her career-high 31-point effort came last year also against Emmanuel.

The Saints led 15-12 with 3:14 to go in the opening quarter before Westfield closed the frame on 13-2 run. First-year wing Caroline Galvani (Framingham, Mass.) started the scoring burst with a three-pointer to tie the game, then after Desiree Robinson (New Haven, Conn.) converted a layup, Hadla responded with a triple on the other end to take the lead.

Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass.) located Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) for a jumper with 46 seconds left, then after two free throws from Hadla, Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) closed the period with a triple to cap the run as the Owls scored ten points in the final 1:08 of the quarter to take a 25-17 lead.

Westfield pushed the lead into double digits midway through the second quarter. Berthiaume buried a three after corralling an offensive rebound, then a Grant steal led to a transition bucket for Hadla to open a 30-20 advantage with 6:43 left in the half.

The Owls led by as many as 16 points in the second with Galvani connecting for a three-pointer to extend the lead to 43-27 at the 3:27 mark of the period. A layup and two made free throws from Hattie Sloyan (Greensboro, N.C.) trimmed the Westfield lead to nine on two separate occasions, but Galvani answered with a three in the closing seconds of the half to regain a double-digit advantage, taking a 48-36 lead into the break.

The lead hovered around ten points for Westfield for the majority of the third quarter with Emmanuel cutting the deficit to as close as seven points in the frame before consecutive baskets from Grant and Hadla pushed the lead to 11 points entering the final period.

In the fourth quarter, the Saints made a late charge in the closing stages of the game. With Westfield still leading by ten points with 4:28 to go, Emmanuel ripped off a 10-1 run in a three-minute span beginning with a jumper from Tyra Blye (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Hadla split a pair of free throws then a pair of threes from Paris Atuahene (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.) along with another jumper from Matela closed the gap to just one point at 75-74 with 1:28 left in the game.

The Owls were unable to convert on their next two possessions, but also got timely stops on the other end of the floor including a steal from Galvani on the baseline with 22 seconds left to obtain possession. After an Owls timeout, Hadla made two free throws after she was intentionally fouled to put Westfield up three with 14 seconds left. Out of a Saints timeout, Atuahene missed a step-back three in an effort to tie the game with Hadla corralling the defensive rebound where she was again fouled.

Hadla sealed the victory for the Owls with two more free throws to make it a two-possession contest with four seconds left. Hadla was extremely efficient at the stripe in the game, converting ten of 12 free throws on the afternoon.

Pond scored 13 points for the Owls, leading the game with four steals while also totaling five assists. Grant produced 12 points and four rebounds while Galvani was the fourth double figure scorer for Westfield, adding 11 points while hitting three triples.

Atuahene and Matela both had strong fourth quarters, combining for 16 of the Saints 20 fourth-quarter points. Atuahene led Emmanuel with 16 points and grabbed five rebounds. Matela was close behind with 15 points and five rebounds. Robinson was third on the Saints with 14 points while Kalia Saunders (Larksville, Pa.) posted a game-high 18 rebounds to go along with nine points off the bench.

Despite being outrebounded 67-42, the Owls outscored the Saints by 18 beyond the arc, connecting on ten of 35 threes compared to four makes on 19 attempts for Emmanuel. Westfield also used quick transitions from defense to offense to provide a scoring lift, scoring 23 points on the fast break compared to 14 for the Saints.

Westfield State has just one game remaining in the year 2024 as the Owls will host Lasell University next Saturday at noon from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. Emmanuel will visit Emerson College on Tuesday at 7:30 P.M.