Pendergast double-double; Seahawks denied

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - A driving layup by senior captain Emily Savino with 13 seconds remaining in the game lifted the Western New England women's basketball team to a thrilling 53-51 victory over Salve Regina in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Tuesday night at the Alumni Healthful Living Center field house. With the win and Endicott's home loss to Wentworth, the Golden Bears (8-4 CCC, 11-8 overall) have now passed both Salve Regina (7-5) and Endicott (7-5) in the CCC standings, and have sole possession of third place. WNE now trails only the University of New England (12-0) and Roger Williams (9-3) in conference play.

The Golden Bears were unable to open the game the way they would have liked, managing to convert only one field goal in the first 8 minutes and 30 seconds. Salve Regina held a lead for most of the first half, including its biggest at nine points, 12-3, at 14:13 on the clock, but that finally changed with 1:40 left when guard Nicole Daly's layup gave Western New England its first lead of the game, 22-21. The two teams traded 3-pointers on the next two possessions, leading to a 25-24 advantage for the Golden Bears at halftime.

Neither team was able to build much of a lead for the first 10 minutes of the second half until Salve Regina went up four (39-35) on guard Meaghan Harden's 3-pointer. The Seahawks then extended their lead to six before Western New England mounted its final comeback.

Savino drained a trey with five minutes left to cut Salve Regina's lead to one point, and then a Savino traditional three-point play at the 3:30 mark put the Golden Bears up 49-47. After the teams traded a few more baskets, Savino made the defensive play of the game by knocking the ball loose from one of Salve Regina's guards, diving on the ball near halfcourt, and calling a timeout with 19 seconds remaining. This set up Savino's go-ahead layup with 13 seconds to go, in which she was met at the rim with contact from a couple Seahawks defenders but still managed to convert.

Harden had a chance to win the game with a 3-pointer at the final buzzer, but the shot rimmed out and the Golden Bears celebrated their huge win, avenging a 70-48 loss in Newport, R.I., on Jan. 10.

Harden led the way for the Seahawks, scoring 19 points to go with eight rebounds. Forward Marissa Pendergast also had a nice game by recording a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, as well as three assists.

Savino made a number of clutch plays among her 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Chelsea Vujs (8 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) and reserve Sam McCann (season-high 11 points, 5 rebounds) chipped in with solid performances as well.

The Golden Bears will look to continue their push to the top of the CCC standings when they visit Wentworth (3-8 CCC) this Thursday night. Western New England will be going for its sixth win in seven games. Salve Regina has a two-game homestead tipping off with Eastern Nazarene on Thursday.