Owls Outfox Pioneers For 78-70 win in Westfield G&E Tip-Off Tournament

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior forward Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) piled up 27 points and added eight rebounds to lead the Owls to a 78-70 victory over Utica University in game one of the Westfield Gas & Electric Tip-Off Tournament from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. on Friday evening.

Westfield State (4-1) will face the winner of Wellesley and St. Lawrence in tomorrow's Westfield G&E Championship game at 2:00 P.M. while Utica (0-4) will face the loser of the second game in a consolation game at noon.

The Owls went on a 13-0 run midway through the first quarter after trailing 12-10. First-year guard Kayley Downie (Easthampton, Mass.) started the run with a corner triple, then in transition, Tavi Williams (Springfield, Mass.) drove to the basket and converted a layup for a 15-13 lead.

The Owls defense forced havoc in the ensuing three Pioneers' possessions, forcing three straight turnovers which led to consecutive three-pointers by Pond and Caroline Galvani (Framingham, Mass.), opening up a 23-12 advantage. Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass.) finished the quarter by attacking the paint and finishing with a right-handed lay in to put Westfield in front 30-19 after one quarter. The Owls forced ten first-quarter turnovers leading to 14 points.

Westfield pushed the lead to 13 entering halftime as both teams shot a combined 6-36 from the field and 1-13 from deep. Grant finished a layup with 44 seconds left to snap a five-minute scoring drought from both sides combined. Grant paced the Owls with 14 points and five rebounds in the opening half.

Sophomore forward Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, N.Y.) scored 18 of the Pioneers 25 first-half points, just one point below her per game average as Utica's leading scorer.

In the third quarter, the Owls maintained a double-digit lead and drove the lead up to as many as 18 points with 1:31 left in the period with Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) delivering an entry feed to Jess Gardner (Webster, Mass.) to give Westfield a 58-40 lead.

The Pioneers closed the quarter on a 7-2 run to trim the Owls lead to 13 points after four made free throws from McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, N.Y.) lodged between a Carly Atty (Tribes Hill, N.Y.) triple made it a 60-47 contest to start the fourth quarter.

Utica made another run midway through the fourth to trim the deficit to seven points thanks to an 11-2 run with a pair of layups by Simmons putting the contest at 71-64 with 3:22 left in the game. Grant halted the run with a straightaway three for her first three of the season to bring the game back to a ten-point Owls lead.

Simmons kept the Pioneers alive in the closing minutes, connecting on back-to-back threes to lower the Owls lead to two possessions at 76-70 with 49 seconds left. Pond nailed two free throws, then Westfield got a stop on the next Utica possession to seal the victory.

Grant recorded 27 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Pond notched 15 points and swiped a game-high eight steals.

Hall and Simmons each recorded double-doubles with Hall pouring in a game-high 32 points while grabbing ten rebounds. Simmons tallied 22 points and a game-leading 13 boards.

The Pioneers shot an efficient 49% from the floor but were held to just 51 shots due to 37 turnovers. Westfield shot just 35.7% from the field (30-84) but were +27 in points off turnovers, +16 in second chance points, and +7 in fast break points. Utica connected on six of 18 triples compared to the Owls eight makes in 29 tries.