Forbasaw Nkamebo drives baseline vs. Wellesley in the Westfield State Holiday Tournament Championship. (Photo courtesy of WSU Sports)
WESTFIELD – The Westfield State women’s basketball team used an 18-0 run midway through the second quarter to pull free from Wellesley College, defeating the Blue, 80-61, in the Westfield State University Holiday Tournament Championship Sunday afternoon at the Woodward Center.
Westfield defeated the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 119-69, in its opening round matchup, while Wellesley advanced to the championship with a 50-48 overtime win over Colby-Sawyer.
Trailing by four early in the second quarter, the Owls forced nine Wellesley turnovers in the final eight minutes of the first half, fueling easy transition points. Westfield led by as many as 16 points late in the second quarter before Wellesley senior captain Chelsi Scott (Portland, Mich.) scored six points in the final 22 seconds of the half to cut the lead to 10, 45-35, at the break.
Scott dominated on the interior for the Blue, finishing with a game-high 28 points and 19 rebounds. The 5-foot-11 center used her speed to outrun the Owls pressure in transition along with nine offensive rebounds to fuel her scoring. She also registered five blocks and three steals.
Westfield senior center Forbasaw Nkamebo (Amherst, Mass.) earned tournament MVP honors, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Nkamebo controlled the offensive glass, racking up most of her points on second-chance opportunities. She also spearheaded the Owls 1-2-2 full-court, racking up three blocks, two steals, and multiple deflections at the point of attack.
The Owls forced 32 turnovers, leading to 32 points. Westfield shot just 23 percent in the second half, but managed to rebound 44 percent of its missed shots leading to 24 second-chance points. Westfield attempted 20 more shots than Wellesley on the afternoon.
After the big Owls run in the second quarter, Wellesley battled back, cutting the lead to single digits on multiple occasions, but the Blue could not get over the hump. Scott cut the Blue deficit to five on a layup with 5:44 remaining in the game, but Nkamebo responded with a put-back layup and then junior guard Jill Valley (Orange, Mass.) canned an off-the-bounce three to push the Owls’ lead back to ten.
Valley finished with a team-high 17 points and 4 steals, while junior point guard Alyssa Darling (Palmer, Mass.) chipped in 13 points and 3 assists.
Ailis Hanley (Cranston, R.I.) recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Wellesley, while sophomore point guard Kayla Jang (South Pasadena, Calif.) dished out 7 assists.
Westfield improves to 7-4 with the win, while Wellesley drops to 3-7. The Owls will open up MASCAC play on Wednesday, January 6 at Fitchburg State at 5:30 p.m. – Courtesy of Westfield State Sports
