Springfield, Mass. – November 8, 2024 – The Springfield College women's basketball team opened up the season with a 70-63 setback to Western New England in Blake Arena on Friday night.

Kassidy Carrano (West Haven, Conn.) pumped in a career-high 18 points and Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) totaled a double double of 13 points and 10 boards.  Amanda Leary (Westbury, N.Y.) handed out seven assists for a Springfield team that shot 34% from the field, knocking down 21-of-62 attempts. After going 7-for-11 from deep in the first half, Springfield connected on just 1-of-11 attempts in the second. 

WNE was paced by 18 points from Emma Kahn and 14 points from Emma Novajasky as the visitors finished the game shooting 22-for-50 (44%).  The Golden Bears benched outscored Springfield's by a 24-11 margin and the team connected on 19-of-31 attempts from the free throw line.

The visiting Golden Bears would jump out to a 9-1 lead just under three minutes into the game, only to have Springfield respond with a 19-5 burst over the next 3:41.  The hosts drilled all seven of their field goal attempts, including five from beyond the arc, to open up a 20-14 cushion at the 3:24 mark on a triple from Carrano.  Neither team would make a field goal for the remainder of the frame as the Pride went into the second quarter with a 20-16 edge.

After the Golden Bears knotted things up at 26 apiece with 5:25 on the clock, a Czeremcha inside finish and corner three from Carrano pushed the hosts advantage back to 31-26 at the 4:56 mark.   Springfield's lead would grow to 37-26 with just over three minutes remaining when Leary scored in the paint and the Pride would own a 36-29 halftime cushion.  

Claire Finney (Haverhill, Mass.) connected on a pair of free throws with 6:13 remaining in the third to help Springfield gain a 43-33 lead, but WNE would respond with an 11-1 run over the next four-plus minutes to even the game up at 44 on a deep three from Sophie Hedges.  Springfield would regain a 48-44 advantage on two free throws by Stefany Padula (Franklin, Mass.) with just over a minute to play, but the Golden Bears closed out the quarter on a 6-2 push to enter the fourth tied at 50.

WNE began the final quarter with a 7-2 spurt as Springfield called for a timeout following a fastbreak bucket by Novajeskey at 8:38.  The hosts would battle back to regain a 60-59 edge on a driving finish by Leary at 4:19, but WNE again answered the call and closed out the game with an 11-3 surge to seal the non-conference win.

Next up for the Pride will be a showdown at Endicott on Wednesday at 7 pm.

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