Springfield, Mass. – December 31, 2023 – The Springfield College women's basketball team raced past William Paterson, 75-48, in the opening game of the 28^th Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic in Blake Arena on Sunday night.

Springfield improved to 9-2 with the triumph, while William Paterson fell to 4-8 on the year.

Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) was dominant for the Pride as she netted a game-high 17 points to go along with a game-best 15 boards, while Rachel Vinton (Holden, Mass.) tallied 13 points and six assists and Amanda Leary (Westbury, N.Y.) produced 12 points.  Springfield held a 48-30 advantage on the glass and outscored William Paterson by a 40-16 margin in the paint.

For William Paterson, Renee Wells scored 14 points and both Brianna Smith and Jade Martinez tallied 11 points.  The Pioneers shot just 17-for-55 (31%) in the game.

Springfield jumped out to a 6-0 lead at the 7:28 mark of the first quarter following a jumper by Vinton and would push its advantage to 13-6 when Stefany Padula (Franklin, Mass.) drilled a trifecta from the left wing with 2:19 on the clock.  The Pride would hold a 14-10 lead after 10 minutes of play but the Pioneers would climb within 19-17 on a jumper by Smith at 7:34.  Springfield then took control of the game midway through the second quarter as it closed out the frame on a 16-6 run over the final five-plus minutes to take a 37-23 advantage into the break.  Leary was key in the burst as she netted all six of her first-half points.  The Pride shot 9-of-19 from the field in the quarter, with Vinton netting nine points for the hosts.

Jaelen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) leaked out in transition for a bucket at 5:16 to give Springfield a 45-30 lead as William Paterson burned a timeout.  Padula banged another three just under two minutes later to make it a 50-32 contest as the Pride was in total command of the game.  The hosts lead ballooned to 73-41 late in the fourth on a bucket by Lindsey Laughlan (Ellington, Conn.) and would take the 75-48 non-conference win as it limited the visitors to a to just nine fourth-quarter points.

Springfield will take on Roger Williams on Monday at 4 pm in its first game of 2024 to close out the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic.

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