WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior center Cassy Jouannet (Conway/Frontier Regional) led Westfield's potent balanced attack with 18 points and nine rebounds as the hot-shooting Owls posted a 96-80 victory over Bridgewater State University in a key midseason MASCAC women's basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 29.

Westfield, - which shot a sizzling 67 percent (30 for 45) from the field - improved to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in the MASCAC. Bridgewater drops to 13-5 and 4-3.

The Owls shot 60 percent from the floor in taking a 45-38 halftime lead. In the second half they bettered that, shooting a torrid 73 percent (16 for 22). Furthermore, Westfield shot 75 percent from the 3-point range (9 for 12) and 87 percent (27 for 31) from the foul line.

"That was incredible shooting," said Westfield head coach Andrea Bertini, whose team also passed well with 26 assists on its 30 made field goals. "I never had a team shoot that well and usually 96 points are the points scored for two of our games.

"It was a huge win for us against a very talented and deep Bridgewater team but every league game is huge from here on."

Trailing 16-15 with 11:15 left in the first half, the Owls went on a scoring blitzkrieg to take a 43-27 lead with 4:14 remaining. Sparking the 28-11 run was sophomore reserve guard Courtney DelRatez (Adams/Hoosac Valley) who scored all 12 of her points in the first half on four 3-point baskets.

Bridgewater then put together a run of its own, outscoring Westfield 15-2 over a five-minute stretch to trail by three, 45-42, with 19:10 left in the game.

"We were rushing (our offense) late in the first half and just holding on," said Bertini. "In the second half we kept our composure, executed and made our layups."

The Owls responded to the Bear comeback and because gradually pulling away midway through the second half, sparked by a balanced scoring attack led by sophomore guard Jenny Bell (Northampton), who finished with 17 points and six assists.

Bell's driving layup gave Westfield a 64-50 lead with 11:34 remaining. Westfield took its biggest lead, 84-65, on a 3-point basket by sophomore reserve guard Angela Paterson (Nantucket) at the 3:02 mark. It was the Owls' last field goal as their final 12 points were scored at the foul line.

"Jenny Bell played an outstanding game," said Bertini. "She is one of the best defensive players in the conference and probably in New England. And any time you can get points from her is a bonus."

Five players scored in double figures for Westfield and Paterson (9 points) and junior point guard Janae Jones of Springfield (8 points, 8 assists) just missed double figures. Senior forward Ashley Finnegan (Worcester/Holy Name) had 14 points and seven rebounds and sophomore guard Briana Kelly (Hampden/Minnechaug) tallied 13 points and was a percent 10-for-10 from the foul line.

Freshman forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton/Shepherd Hill) scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Bears, who shot 39 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Michaela Cosby (Walpole, MA) finished with 18 points and five assists and senior guard Brittney Chappron (Braintree) tallied 13 points.