Owls Unable to Overcome Early Deficit, Fall to Trinity

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior guard Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) scored a game-high 21 points, but the Owls were unable to overcome a first quarter deficit in an 83-67 loss to Trinity College at the Ed Hockenbury Classic from Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont on Friday night.

The Owls drop their second straight game, pushing their overall record to 5-3 on the season. Trinity improves to 5-1 on the year.

Westfield dug themselves into an early first-quarter hole as the Bantams scored the first 18 points of the game before Hadla finally got the Owls on the scoreboard with 4:49 left in the quarter. Trailing by 15, the Owls found an offensive spark in the later stages of the period, ripping off a 9-0 run capped off by a pair of Octaviana Williams (Springfield, Mass.) jumpers to cut the Bantams lead to six points.

At the beginning of the second quarter, junior Jess Gardner (Webster, Mass.) paced the offensive attack for the Owls, nailing two triples to bring Westfield within six points, 29-23. Gardner tallied 13 points in the quarter as Westfield outscored Trinity 24-23 in the frame and trailed by eight heading into halftime.

Trinity began to distance themselves in the second half, starting with a 14-0 run to begin the third quarter that ballooned the lead up to 20 points. The margin would remain around 20 points with Hadla converting on a layup and a free throw to end the period with the Bantams up 72-54.

The Owls attempted to form a late charge in the middle stages of the fourth quarter with a mini 5-0 spurt to trim the deficit to 12 points, but Trinity scored the next three baskets to put the game out of reach.

After Trinity scored the first 18 points of the game, Westfield settled into the contest and outscored the Bantams 67-65.

Gardner tallied 18 points, including three triples in five attempts. Williams was the third Owls player in double figures, joining Halda and Gardner with ten points.

Junior center Reilly Campbell (Shrewsbury, Mass.) was a force inside for Trinity, collecting 20 points on an efficient nine makes in ten tries. She also recorded nine rebounds. Bria Fuller (Springdale, Maryland) added 19 points with Tori Varsamis (Belmont, Mass.) chipping in with ten points.

Trinity held a noticeable advantage in efficiency from the field as the Bantams shot 61.8% from the floor (34-55) with 30 of their made shots coming from inside the perimeter. Westfield shot 34.8% from the field (24-69) and 26.1% from three-point range.

Westfield will face Eastern Nazarene in day two of the Ed Hockenbury Classic tomorrow at 1:00 P.M. from Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.