Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior forward Andrea Wasuk (Lenox) scored a game-high 21 points as Westfield State rolled to an 80-54 victory over Salem State in the championship game of the Massachusetts State College Athletics Conference (MASCAC) women's basketball tournament.

Westfield, 22-4, earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament following the resounding victory in which it led 45-21 at halftime. Westfield also participated in the NCAA Tournament in 1995 and 1996 when its current head coach Andrea Bertini was a standout for the Owls.

Also, it was Westfield's second MASCAC crown in the tournament's 20-year history. Westfield also clinched the tourney title in 1992.

"I really can't come up with too many words, it's just awesome," said Bertini of her team's outstanding performance in the championship game. "Absolutely our defense was the key to the victory. And our depth was able to wear them down."

Wasuk only played 20 minutes despite earning game-high scoring honors. She displayed a variety of moves in dropping in buckets underneath the taller Vikings.

The Owls also ran a near flawless fastbreak in building their big first-half lead. For the game, they had an incredible 27 assists on 31 field goals.

"With our team speed we were able get out on the fastbreak and make good passes," said Bertini.

The bench player who sparked the Owls this game was junior guard Krista Corriveau (Plainville, CT). She finished with 14 points and was 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Corriveau drained a pair of three-balls to give Westfield an early 20-7 lead.

Salem closed to within five, 22-17, with 9:00 left in the first half, then Westfield started its Showtime Act. The Owls went on a 23-4 run to take their commanding 45-21 halftime.

Twin sisters Katie and Lauren Sylvain (Hadley) keyed the surge with long-range bombs and crisp passing. Lauren had the best all-around game, finishing with 14 points (3-for-5 from 3-point range), and team highs of six rebounds and seven assists. Katie had 12 points and five assists.

For the entire game, the Owls shot 51 percent from the field and were 8-for-20 from 3-point range.

The Owls also scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 52-21 lead but Salem didn't fold. The Vikings got as close at 19 points, 60-41, on two free throws by Katie Bielonko (Chicopee) with 8:42 remaining. Westfield quickly regrouped and cranked up its fastbreak to build the lead back up to as many as 29.

"I did not think it was going to be an easy game," said Bertini, who grew up in Salem. "Salem is a good team with a lot of veteran players and has one of the best coaches (Tim Shea) in the country."

Danielle Jenkins, a 6-0 junior center from Marlboro, was Salem's only player in double figures with 19 points. She also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.