Women's Basketball Falls Short at WNEC, 59-54, Despite Cotter's 23
Box Score/Play-by-PlaySPRINGFIELD, Mass. – February 6, 2007 -- Junior guard Jen Dabrowski (Plainville, Conn.) played her best game of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Western New England College women’s basketball team upset city-rival Springfield College, 59-54, in a non-league contest Tuesday (Feb. 6) at WNEC's Alumni Healthful Living Center.
This was the Golden Bears’ first win ever over the Pride in 11 meetings.
Junior guard Tiffany DeRosa (Hamden, Conn.) added 17 points and senior guard Jenna Cullen (East Haddam, Conn.) contributed 10 points coming off the bench as Western New England College evened its record at 10-10 with its fifth consecutive victory. Despite winning five of its last seven, SC is now 10-11 on the season.
The Golden Bears led by as many as eight points in the first half before the Pride came back to trail by only five (30-25) at the break. Cullen banked home a huge 3-point hoop from about 30-feet to give WNEC that five-point edge at the buzzer.
Western New England College didn’t score for the first 4:59 of the second half, but then used a 13-5 run to take a 43-30 lead following two free throws by Dabrowski with 12:13 remaining in the contest.
Springfield rallied behind junior guard Christine Cotter (Stoughton, Mass.) who scored seven straight points to narrow the margin to 43-39 at the 8:38 mark. She finished with a game-high 23 points and six rebounds.
Dabrowski hit a jumper to give the Golden Bears a 53-43 advantage with 4:45 left before SC mounted its final comeback, getting within four at 53-49 following a basket by sophomore center Lauren O’Connor (Valhalla, N.Y.) with 1:29 remaining in the game.
WNEC, however, made seven free throws in the final 56.4 seconds to seal the victory.
Sophomore forward Corey Finch (Hanover, Pa.) had a double-double for Springfield with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Tara McCarthy (Bristol, R.I.) scored nine points, and added seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Senior guard Amanda Hill (Cheshire, Conn.) finished with a game-high six assists.
The Pride entered the game with a 66.7 scoring average but finished shooting only 33.9% from the field in compiling its third lowest scoring total of the season. SC shot just .290 in the first half (9-of-31).
Western New England College shot only 36.2% from the floor, but made 11-of-15 free throws (73.3%) compared to only 9-of-18 for the Pride.
Up next, Springfield hosts Worcester State on Thursday (Feb. 8) in Blake Arena. On Saturday (Feb. 10), SC will return to NEWMAC conference play when it travels to Smith for a 2:00 p.m. encounter.
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Head Coach Naomi Graves
Entering her 19th season as head coach in 2009-10, Naomi Graves has directed her squads to an impressive 266-117 record (.695 winning percentage) since joining the Division III ranks in 1995. Graves has led the Pride to eleven post-season bids in the past 14 years, including five berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament in the past nine years.
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