Jill Valley led Westfield with 21 points. (Photo courtesy of Westfield State University Sports)
BRIDGEWATER – Junior guard Jill Valley (Orange, Mass.) scored a game-high 21 points and senior center Forbasaw Nkamebo (Amherst, Mass.) posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the visiting Westfield State University women’s basketball team to a 70-60 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) win over Bridgewater State University on Wednesday evening at the Tinsley Center.
The Owls improve to 17-7 on the season and 10-1 in the MASCAC as they clinched at least a share of the conference regular season title. The host Bears fall to 11-12 overall and 8-3 in the MASCAC standings.
The Bears held a slight 35-33 advantage after two quarters of play. The first half featured six ties and seven lead changes as the score was close throughout with neither team leading by more than six points.
Nkamebo led all players with 11 points over the first 20 minutes, while Valley added nine for the Owls. Lindland paced the Bears with nine points in the first half while DaSilva scored eight and Conceicao and DeSantis tallied seven apiece.
Bridgewater shot 44% (14-32) from the floor over the opening two periods but connected on just 3 of 13 (23%) three-point field goals. Westfield converted 33% of its field goal attempts including 4-for-12 (33%) from behind the arc.
A 12-3 run to open the second half gave the visitors a 45-38 lead. The Bears answered with a 7-0 run, highlighted by six points from Lindland, to knot the score at 45-45. Westfield would ultimately carry a 50-47 lead into the fourth quarter.
A three-pointer by Valley to open the final period followed by a Rebecca Sapouckey (Chicopee, Mass.) jumper extended the Owls’ advantage to 55-47. Three-pointers by Conceicao and DeSantis sandwiched around a Valley trifecta pulled the Bears to within five, 58-53, with 6:35 left to play.
Turnovers and poor rebounding, however, would plague the Bears over the next five minutes as they committed seven miscues and gave up five offensive boards during that stretch. A pair of layups by Nkamebo and one by Valley increased the Westfield lead to 64-55 with under two minutes remaining. The Owls would go 6-for-10 from the free throw line in the final 51 seconds to close out the 70-60 win.
Westfield shot just 33% (24-72) for the game but finished with 49 rebounds including 21 off the offensive glass. The Owls held a 26-13 advantage in points off turnovers as well as a decided 20-5 edge in second chance points. The Westfield bench also outscored the BSU reserves by a 19-2 margin. Kirsy Segarra (Holyoke, Mass.), Ece Eldek (Istanbul, Turkey), Rebecca Sapouckey (Chicopee, Mass.) each contributed five points for the Owls second unit.
The Bears went 10-for-14 (71%) from the floor in the first quarter, but made just 14 of 58 (24%) field goal attempts over the last three. Bridgewater also turned the ball over 23 times.
Valley finished with 21 points, her sixth consecutive game scoring 21 or more points.
Susan Bell made just her second start of the season for Westfield, but capitalized on the opportunity, scoring nine points on 3-4 shooting from behind the arc.
Nkamebo’s 12 rebounds give her 866 for her career. She is three rebounds shy from matching Ellen (Carey) Leahy ’92 for the top spot on the Owls all-time list.
With the win, Westfield clinches at least a share of the MASCAC regular-season crown for the third straight year and the fifth time since 2008. The Owls can win the title outright with a win Saturday when the Owls travel to play Worcester State in the final regular-season game of the season. Note that the game will be played at Worcester Polytechnic Institute as Worcester State’s facility is under construction.
Junior forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting to go along with four rebounds and three steals, while senior guard Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass.) notched 15 points, three boards and four assists. Conceicao was honored before the game as the Bears held Senior Night festivities.
BSU junior guard Stephanie DeSantis (Walpole, Mass.) added ten points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists, and freshman guard Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.) chipped in with ten points, six boards and three steals. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
