Vikings Drop MASCAC Matchup in Westfield

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications  

WESTFIELD, Mass.- Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) and Jordan Grant  (Gray, Maine.) combined for 41 points to give Westfield State the 82-64 victory over Salem State on Wednesday night. The Massachusetts State Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory for the Owls boosted their record to 12-8, 5-2 while the Vikings slipped to 8-11, 2-5 on the season.  

The Vikings were paced by Abuk Teng (Manchester, N.H.) who had 20 points followed by Jaylen Nieves (Chicopee, Mass.) and Ernidia Goncalves (Everett, Mass.) who chipped in 15 apiece, with Goncalves also bringing in 18 rebounds for her twelfth double -double of the season. Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) dished out 12 helpers in the effort.

Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) and Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) led the Owls with 21 and 20 points, respectively, while Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) added 12 points off the bench in the Owl's victory.

Both teams traded baskets to start the game before a perfect trip to the charity stripe from Teng gave the Vikings the slight 8-5 edge just three minutes into the action.  The Vikings would be able to hold this slight advantage for a majority of the opening stanza, leading by as many as five (16-11) before the Owls tied the game at 18 with 1:32 to play in the first. Both teams would tack on one more basket to enter the second quarter at a 20-point stalemate.

To start the second both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net, until Hadla drained a deep ball at the 7:37 mark, sparking her team to a 9-2 run. Teng stopped the bleeding at the 5:45 mark when another perfect trip at the line made it a five-point game (29-24), in favor of the Owls, but after that trip the Vikings ended up on the wrong side of 7-0 run to find themselves down double-digits with 3:23 to play in the half. Shortly after, Nieves gave the Vikings some life as she completed a three-point play to ignite the Vikings on a run that would bring them within five points before Hadla stopped the bleeding with a layup, giving the Owls the slight 38-31 advantage at the break.

Nieves picked up where she left off to start the third, as she netted a three on the Vikings' opening possession to make it a four-point game. Westfield State answered with a 9-2 run to reclaim their double-digit lead (47-36) before Nieves would hit her second three of the quarter to stop the bleeding. The Vikings would remain within striking distance and find themselves down four (49-45) at the 4:39 mark but that would be the last time the Vikings scored in the stanza, as the Owls held them scoreless while tacking on 11 points of their own to head into the final 10 minutes of action with the 60-45 lead.

With 6:20 to play in the game the Vikings went on a 7-0 run to bring their deficit to single digits but a Hadla three on the other end would quickly reclaim the Owls double-digit cushion (69-57) with just over five minutes left in the game. Despite Salem State's best efforts, that would be as close as they would get as Westfield State went on to take the 82-64 MASCAC victory.

The Vikings look to bounce back this Saturday, January 27 as they travel to Bridgewater State to take on the Bears of Bridgewater State University.  Tipoff is at 1 p.m..