NORTH ADAMS – Sophomore guard Chelsea Moussette (Southampton / Hampshire Regional) scored a career high 20 points on a perfect 7-7 day shooting to lead the Westfield State women’s basketball team to a convincing 101-62 win over MCLA in their first Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference match of the season at the Amsler Campus Center Gym Saturday afternoon.
The Owls improve to 7-6 overall and are now 1-0 in the MASCAC. MCLA drops their fourth straight in falling to 4-8 overall and are 0-1 in the conference.
Moussette was 5-5 from three point land and collected 14 of her 20 points in the opening half of play.
In the opening half, Westfield asserted pressure early. The Owls jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed. They would open up a 14-2 lead after the first 6:26 of game action. MCLA would close the margin to 20-12 with time ticking down in the first quarter, but an Allison Hester (Sutton, Mass) triple made it 23-12 after one.
Chelsea Moussette scored a career high 20 points on a perfect 7-7 day shooting to lead the Owls to a 101-62 MASCAC win over MCLA Saturday. (Courtesy of WSU Sports)
MCLA’s Sam Gawron connected on a jumper with 7:46 left in the first half to pull within ten again at 28-18, but the Owls responded with a 13-2 spurt to seize a 41-20 lead, their largest of the half. Westfield would eventually take a 49-32 halftime lead after forcing 19 Trailblazer turnovers.
Junior Kierra McCarthy (Ludlow, Mass.) and Moussette combined for 30 of Westfield’s 49 first half points. The duo were a combined 7-7 from three point range. Westfield was never threatened in the closing half of play.
In total, the Owls placed four players in double figures. McCarthy added 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, while freshman Melissa Gray (Peabody, Mass.) (13), and junior Lucy Barrett (Williamstown / Mt. Greylock) (11) rounded out the leading scorers for the Owls.
The Owls shot 44% from the floor and were the beneficiary of 41 MCLA turnovers. They collected 29 steals in the game.
MCLA was paced by the trio of Emily Moulton, Erika Ryan, and Kylah Langston. They all ended with 14 points. The points were career best efforts from Ryan and Langston. Both players completed the double double as Langston grabbed 11 boards while Ryan added ten.
Westfield State will host Bridgewater State in a conference match on January 13th at 1:00 p.m. MCLA is back in action Monday night hosting Becker in non-league play at 6:00 p.m. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
