SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's basketball team overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat Western New England, 51-46, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.
With the win the Leopards improve to 5-8 overall (2-5 CCC) while the Golden Bears, who saw their three-game home win streak snapped, fall to 6-7 (3-4).
Behind a double-double by Chelsea Vujs, Western New England never trailed in the first half, taking an eight-point lead, 26-18, into the locker room. After Wentworth tied the score 14-14 on senior Christine Henry's (Tewksbury, Mass.) 3-pointer, WNE finished the final 7:29 on a 12-4 run which was ignited by a Samantha McCann lay-in and Vujs keyed it with seven points.
After a bucket by Nicole Daly in the paint gave WNE a 30-22 cushion at 16:12 to go in the second half, a Henry trey and sophomore Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) lay-in cut into the lead to 30-27.
The teams traded points until Wentworth took its first lead, 36-34, on a senior Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) lay-up at the 9:54 mark. A few possessions later, freshman Sammie Olson reclaimed the lead for WNE, 39-38, on a turnaround jumper. On Wentworth's ensuing possession senior Ashley Stowe (Charlestown, R.I.), who finished with 11 rebounds, gave the Leopards the lead for good 40-39 with 5:41 left after an offensive rebound.
The Leopards would lead by as many as six with 1:29 left on a sophomore Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) 3-pointer before Western New England cut the lead in half twice, but would get no closer.
Kerr led Wentworth with a double-double of her own with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals. Henry came off the bench to net 13 points and McLaughlin added 11.
Vujs finished with game highs of 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Both teams hit the road on Saturday as Wentworth is at Nichols and Western New England is at Endicott.
