WESTFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore reserve guard Angela Paterson (Nantucket) poured in a career-high 25 points, making seven 3-point baskets, to lead Westfield State University to a 78-49 victory over Salem State University on Saturday, Feb. 5.

It was the sixth straight victory for the Owls, who boosted their overall record to 15-5; they remain in sole possession of first place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) with a 7-1 record. Salem is no 3-16 and 0-6.

Paterson came off the bench to drain five of her 3-point baskets to lead the Owls from an early first-half deficit. The wiry southpaw sharpshooter scored her 25 points in 25 minutes of action and was 7-for-10 from 3-point range, two shy of the school record for 3-pointers made in game. Westfield head coach Andrea Bertini holds the school record; she was 9-for-23 in an ECAC tournament game vs. Norwich in 1994.

"Paterson has been due, she has been playing great in practice," said Bertini. "And this game was especially important to her since it was Think Pink and Breast Cancer Awareness Day (Paterson lost her mother to cancer this past November). It meant a lot to her and I was hoping she would break the record."

As a team, the Owls set a school record for most 3-pointers made in a game as they were 12 for 27 from beyond the arc. However, Westfield struggled at the outset with its two other 3-point specialists – Brianna Kelly (Hampden/Minnechaug) and Courtney DelRatez (Adams/Hoosac Valley) shooting a combined 0 for 9 from beyond the arc in the first half.

Westfield trailed 11-8 when Paterson first game into the game with 11:58 left in the first half. She drained her first trey at the 10:23 mark to tie the score. Paterson popped in four more treys as Westfield outscored Salem, 28-13, over a 10-minute span to lead at halftime, 36-21.

"Salem tried to slow us down with its zone offense but we were able to move the ball better after the first five minutes of the half, " said Bertini. "Plus, we were able to control the boards and obviously our shooters got hot."

Kelly canned three 3-point baskets in the second half and DelRatez and Paterson both made two treys as the Owls built a lead as big as 30 points.

The Owls had a solid inside attack again as senior co-captains Ashley Finnegan (Worcester/Holy Name) and Cassy Jouannet (Conway/Frontier Regional) combined for 28 points and 22 rebounds. Finnegan posted another double-double (13 points, 15 rebounds) and Jouannet finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Vikings shot 26 percent from the floor, including a 7 for 26 effort from 3-point range. Junior guard Amy Barry (Manchester, NH) scored a team-high 12 points followed by sophomore guard Madelaine Park (Blue Hill, Maine) with 11 points. Junior center Ginny Fleming (Peabody) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.