Springfield, Mass. – The Wentworth women's basketball team battled first-place Western New England University in Commonwealth Coast Conference action on Wednesday evening inside the Alumni Healthful Living Center. Western New England protected their top status in the CCC with a 70-57 victory.

RECORDS

• Wentworth (8-16, 1-14 CCC)
• WNE (21-4, 14-2 CCC)

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Leading Scorers: Erin Morton (10), Abriana Busbey (9), Isabella Perez (7)
• Leading Rebounders: Molley Duclos (7), Simone Barros (4), Deangeliz Urena (4)
• Assists Leaders: Erin Morton (2), Abriana Busbey (2)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first quarter was ultimately the deciding factor in the conference matchup, as WNE outscored the Black & Gold 17-5. Wentworth battled the top contender Golden Bears in the second quarter, matching WNE's 20 points with six points apiece off the hands of Erin Morton (Norway, Maine) and Kayla Kelley (Boston, Mass.). Freshman Isabella Perez (Homestead, Fla.) knocked in five points of her own, including a three-pointer, as Wentworth hit 45.5% from behind the arc, combined with long range contributions from senior Maya Spence (Georgetown, Mass.), Morton, and two from Kelley. At the break, WNE held on to its first quarter lead of 12 points, 37-25.
• Western New England used 66.7% shooting from the floor in the third quarter to take its largest lead of 23 points with 5:09 left to play in the frame. Abriana Busbey (Palmer, Alaska) knocked down back-to-back three's with two minutes left, including one with 33 seconds before the final quarter to shrink the deficit to 19, 58-39.
• Wentworth ignited a spirited comeback in the final quarter, as Molley Duclos (Greenfield, Mass.) capped a 9-4 run with a layup midway through. The Leopards would outscore the home team 18-12, using six points from freshman Winnie Kenou (Mattapan, Mass.), but Western New England's early lead held up for the final score.

NOTES

• The Leopards played the historically talented Golden Bears to their closest score since 2015
• Busbey set a new career-high, going 3-for-3 from long rage
• Morton booked double digits on the scoreboard for the seventh time in her last 10 games
    

NEXT

• The Leopards will close out the 2019-2020 campaign on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. tip-off at Salve Regina.

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