WESTFIELD – Jill Valley (Mahar/Orange, Mass.) scored 18 points and Forbasaw Nkamebo (Amherst/Amherst, Mass.) added 17 points and 10 rebounds as Westfield State blazed it way past Mass College of Liberal Arts, 90-69 in a MASCAC women’s basketball game at the Woodward Center on Saturday afternoon.
Westfield State improves to 9-4 and 2-0 in the league, while MCLA is now 8-5 and 0-2 in the MASCAC.
After a tight first quarter, Westfield pulled away with a 25-13 score in the second quarter to lead 51-35 at the half.
JILL VALLEY
Leading 31-28 after MCLA’s Kayla Hotaling (Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk/Ravena, N.Y.) scored with 7:59 left in the second quarter, Westfield sparked a 19-4 run over the next five and a half minutes to seize control of the game. The Owls forced four turnovers in the critical stretch, and capped the run with a steal and layup from Lucy Barrett (Mt. Greylock/Williamstown, Mass.) that gave Westfield a 50-32 lead with 2:22 left in the quarter.
Westfield maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half, never leading by less than 14 points.
The Owls forced 39 Trailblazer turnovers, made 24 steals and grabbed 27 offensive rebounds.
Valley shot 6-11 from the floor and made 3-5 three point attempts. Nkamebo shot 8-11 from the floor.
Alyssa Darling (Palmer/Palmer, Mass.) and Kirsy Segarra (Holyoke/Holyoke, Mass.) each added 10 points for the Owls. Freshman Kierra McCarthy (Ludlow/Ludlow, Mass.) scored nine points and grabbed seven boards for Westfield, and freshman Lauren Carnevale (Pittsfield/Pittsfield, Mass.) had a defensive impact with five steals and a blocked shot.
The Trailblazers got a game-high 19 points from Hotaling, who had a solid all-around game with eight rebounds and four assists. Ashley Clawson (Tolland/Tolland, Conn.) netted 15.
Westfield State will be back in action on Wednesday night with a key early-season matchup at Framingham State, while MCLA will host Salem State in another MASCAC game on Wednesday. – Courtesy of Westfield State Sports
