BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Emily Savino (Ellington, Conn.) connected on 8-of-14 shots to score a game-high 25 points to help pace the Western New England women's basketball team to its fourth straight victory as the Golden Bears defeated Wentworth, 56-42, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Tansey Gymnasium.
Western New England took an early, 4-1 lead before a layup from freshman Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) and a jumper from junior Ashley Stowe (Voluntown, Conn.) gave Wentworth a 6-5 lead with 14:52 left. The Golden Bears would go on a 13-2 run with Savino scoring five points, and lead by a 17-7 score with 9:08 left.
The Leopards would cut the lead to eight on a junior Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) basket, but the Golden Bears responded by scoring the next six points to push their lead to 14 with just over five minutes to play. Back-to-back 3-pointers from senior Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) cut the lead to six and Western New England, which would hold the Leopards to 26.7 percent shooting in the first half, built the lead up to 11 at the break.
After Savino opened the second half with a pair of free throws, Conway drilled back-to-back shots from behind the arc to make it a 32-25 game with 16:55 left. However, a jumper from sophomore Sam McCann (Warren, Mass.) and five straight points from Savino gave Western New England a 39-25 lead with 12:39 left.
Wentworth would get as close as 11 with 3:33 left, but the Golden Bears would go 7-for-8 from the line down the stretch to extend the lead.
In addition to her 25 points, Savino also had seven rebounds. Freshman Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) had a double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds) to go along with five assists, while McCann chipped in with eight points.
Conway paced the Leopards with 12 points, while Kerr recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists to go along with four steals. Wentworth was held to 27.1 percent shooting from the floor for the game.
With the win Western New England improves to 12-8 overall and 9-4 in league play. The Golden Bears host Endicott on Saturday. Wentworth sees its two-game win streak come to an end, falling to 9-11 (4-9). The Leopards host Nichols on Saturday.
