SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – December 2, 2006 – Sophomore center Lauren O’Connor and junior guard Christine Cotter scored 19 points each to lead Springfield College to an 81-36 victory over Westfield State College in the second game of Day 2 of the Pioneer Valley Hoop Classic at Springfield College’s Blake Arena.

With the win, Springfield evened its record to 3-3, while Westfield State fell to 1-3.

In earlier action, Amherst College was the only participant in the two-day tourney to finish 2-0 by defeating Western New England College, 73-54.

O’Connor finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds to go along with her 9-point, 15-rebound effort last night against Amherst. In today’s game, the 6-1 center from Valhalla, N.Y. also shot 7-of-9 from the floor and added four assists.

For her efforts, O’Connor was named to the All-Tournament Team. Others named to the 2006 Pioneer Valley Hoop Classic All-Tournament Team were: junior forward Stefanie Reiff (Hinsdale, Ill.) (MVP) and sophomore guard/forward Kerry O’Loughlin (Stow, Mass.) from Amherst, junior guard Jen Dabrowski (Plainville, Conn.) from WNEC, and freshman guard Sarah Boudreau (Tewksbury, Mass.) from Westfield State.

Cotter also scored 19 points for the Pride in today’s second game. The junior guard from Stoughton, Mass. had seven assists and one block, shooting 6-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. The seven assists tied her own Pioneer Valley Classic single-game record which she first set on this same day against the same team exactly two years ago. Her four three-point field goals made also tied a record set by four others previously.

Three other SC players also scored in double figures, including senior guard Amanda Hill (Cheshire, Conn.) with 12 points (plus two assists and four steals); junior guard Tara McCarthy (Bristol, R.I.) with 11 points; and sophomore forward Corey Finch (Hanover, Pa.) with 10 points (plus eight rebounds, and three assists).

For the Owls of Westfield State, the only double-figure scorer was sophomore guard Lauren Sylvain (Hadley, Mass.) with 11 points. Boudreau finished with five points, three rebounds, and two assists.

In this contest, Westfield State took leads of 2-0 and 4-3, the latter on a lay-up by sophomore forward Andrea Wasuk (Lenox, Mass.) with 18:31 left in the first half.

A short jumper by Finch then put the Pride into the lead for good at 5-4. A 7-0 SC run was capped by a three-pointer by Hill, making it 10-4. The first half lead then mushroomed to 24 points on three occasions, the last at 48-24 when McCarthy hit a lay-up with 24 seconds left.

SC shot .600 in that half (18-of-30), while Westfield State shot .333 (9-of-27). In the second half, the Owls could manage only 12 points, while SC was scoring 33 of its own. For the game, SC shot .527 (29-of-55), while Westfield State shot .250 (12-of-48). In the second half alone, the Owls shot .143 (3-of-21).

Overall, SC turned it over just 10 times to WSU’s 21. SC outrebounded WSU, 40-29.

published: 12/02/2006