Westfield State Topples Vikings 102-72

SALEM, Mass. --  Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) scored 20 points and Alison Mendel (Adams, Mass.) added 18 as Westfield State cruised to a 102-72 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Salem State at Twohig Gymnasium on Wednesday evening. The Owls improve to 6-7 on the year and 2-0 in conference. The Vikings slide to 2-10 and 0-1 in the MASCAC.

Westfield State received 65 bench points, led by Hadla and Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine), who had 15 points and nine rebounds. Isabella Aitken (Pittsfield, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points while Jess Gardner (Webster, Mass.) notched 13 points. Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.) secured seven steals as the Owls forced 42 turnovers.

Irianis Delgado (Lynn, Mass.) led the Vikings with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds while Gabby Torres (Peabody, Mass.) scored 15 points and added seven rebounds. Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) netted 13 points with a team-high seven assists.   

Salem State took an early 10-6 lead following a basket by Liz Zaiter (Peabody, Mass.). However, a 10-2 spurt by the Owls with four points coming from Mendel gave Westfield State a 20-16 first quarter advantage. Leading 22-18 in the second, the Owls began to pull away as back-to-back baskets by Grant and a three from Hadla pushed the lead to 29-22 with 8:14 remaining. A Delgado layup brought Salem State to within 32-26, but the Vikings' offense struggled, going scoreless for over three minutes as Westfield State took a commanding 47-29 advantage. The Owls forced six turnovers in the second as both Mendel and Hadla put up 10 points apiece in the quarter. Westfield State exited the period with a 51-39 halftime lead. The Owls shot 41.5% in the first half (17-41) while 22 offensive rebounds led to 22 second chance points.

The Owls doubled up the Vikings 30-15 in the third quarter, going on a 10-0 run to  build a 61-43 with 5:59 left after a Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) layup. Aitken and Mendel closed the quarter with back-to-back baskets as Westfield State led 81-54 after three. The Owls built their largest lead of 33 points, 98-65 after two free throws by Aitken at the 3:14 mark of the fourth.  A Lindsey Bohenko (Lowell, Mass.) layup pushed the margin to 100-69 before Westfield State settled for a 102-72 victory.

The Owls went 42-110 (38.2%) from the floor and finished with 55 rebounds, including 32 offensive boards. The Vikings shot 29-67 (43.3%) from the field.