Women’s Basketball Downs UMass Boston, 72-62

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year guard Octaviana Williams (Springfield, Mass.) scored a career-best 16 points while swiping five steals to assist the Owls to a 72-62 victory over UMass Boston at the Hunter Tip-Off Tournament from New York, N.Y. on Friday evening.

Williams was one of three Owls to finish in double figures on the night with junior Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) collecting a team-high 18 points and junior Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) adding 16 points. Grant also pulled down seven rebounds with Hadla leading the team with three triples.

UMass Boston was led by double-double efforts from graduate forward Meg Dixon (Hanover, Mass.) and junior forward Alexah Potter (Manchester, Conn.). Dixon collected 17 points and supplied a game-high 17 rebounds while also tallying five assists and four steals. Potter came off the bench and provided 18 points and ten rebounds.

Turnovers played a major role in the outcome of the game as the Owls generated 38 points off of 42 turnovers compared to the Beacons' 15 points off 22 Westfield turnovers. UMass Boston held the rebounding advantage at 53-34, including 16 offensive rebounds, but were unable to manage much offense on secondary looks as the Owls owned a slight 14-11 edge in second chance points. 

Westfield knocked down 36.6% of their shots (26-71) and UMass Boston converted at a 39.7% clip (23-58). Both teams hit eight triples with the Beacons taking two additional three pointers.

Westfield advances into the Hunter Tip-Off Tournament Championship game tomorrow as the Owls will take on site host Hunter College at 3:00 P.M. from Hunter Sports Complex in New York, N.Y.