WESTFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore center Gabby Felix scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds to pace Westfield State University to a 63-52 victory over Salem State University in the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's basketball tournament.
 
Westfield, 17-9, advances to tWESTFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore center Gabby Felix scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds to pace Westfield State University to a 63-52 victory over Salem State University in the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's basketball tournament.
 
Westfield, 17-9, advances to the tournament semi-finals and will play at No. 2 seed Worcester State on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:00 p.m. The Owls and Lancers split their regular season series. No. 6 seed Salem ends its season with an 11-15 record.
 
"Worcester State is as tough as they come," said Westfield head coach Andrea Bertini. ""It's going to be a very tough game; they have a tough gym to play in and the crowd is always full."
 
Westfield got off to a fast start for the third straight time this season vs. Salem. Executing well at both ends of the court, Westfield led 14-2 in the opening five minutes and 20-7 with 8:20 remaining in the first half.
 
The halftime score was 30-17 as Salem struggled from the field, shooting only 18 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Westfield 6-1 freshman forward Tayler Travis scored all 10 of her points in the first half and Felix tallied nine as the Owls dominated inside.
 
In the second half, Westfield took its biggest lead of 19 points, 38-19, with 16:08 remaining. But trailing 42-25 with 14:27 remaining, the Vikings went on a 13-2 run to pull within six points, 44-38, with 8:30 remaining.
 
The Owls quickly built the lead to 11 points, but the scrappy Salem squad sliced the deficit to five points, 50-45, on a Bridget Dullea layup with 4:56 remaining.
 
Felix then took charge, scoring four points to key a 7-0 run that gave Westfield a 57-45 edge with 2:35 remaining.
 
Both teams struggled offensively and shot a nearly identical 29 percent from the field (Westfield was 18 for 61; Salem 18 for 62) but the Owls had a huge edge from the foul line, canning 26 of 34 free throws. Salem was 11 for 16 from the charity stripe. The Vikings made 5 of 19 3-point attempts while Westfield was only 1 for 14 from beyond the arc.
 
The only players scoring for the Owls were the five starters. Senior guard Jenny Bell stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, 10 rebounds, three assists and six steals. Freshman guard Keri Doldoorian scored 14 points, including 9 of 10 free throws.  Felix was 9 for 18 from the field and 8 for 11 from the foul line. Sophomore guard Jen Ashton finished with eight rebounds, five assists, five steals and four points despite only playing 26 minutes because of foul trouble.
 
"Gabby had a great game tonight," said Bertini. "She must have had almost a 20-20 (points-rebounds) game. Her matchup tonight was in her favor but that will be different on Thursday."
 
"I was getting banged around tonight, but I'm glad I hit my free throws and that was a big win," said the six-foot Felix, a graduate of Springfield Commerce High School.
 
Dullea led the Vikings with team highs of 18 points and seven rebounds; she scored 16 of her points during the second-half comeback. Also scoring in double figures was Ginny Fleming.he tournament semi-finals and will play at No. 2 seed Worcester State on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:00 p.m. The Owls and Lancers split their regular season series. No. 6 seed Salem ends its season with an 11-15 record.
 
"Worcester State is as tough as they come," said Westfield head coach Andrea Bertini. ""It's going to be a very tough game; they have a tough gym to play in and the crowd is always full."
 
Westfield got off to a fast start for the third straight time this season vs. Salem. Executing well at both ends of the court, Westfield led 14-2 in the opening five minutes and 20-7 with 8:20 remaining in the first half.
 
The halftime score was 30-17 as Salem struggled from the field, shooting only 18 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Westfield 6-1 freshman forward Tayler Travis scored all 10 of her points in the first half and Felix tallied nine as the Owls dominated inside.
 
In the second half, Westfield took its biggest lead of 19 points, 38-19, with 16:08 remaining. But trailing 42-25 with 14:27 remaining, the Vikings went on a 13-2 run to pull within six points, 44-38, with 8:30 remaining.
 
The Owls quickly built the lead to 11 points, but the scrappy Salem squad sliced the deficit to five points, 50-45, on a Bridget Dullea layup with 4:56 remaining.
 
Felix then took charge, scoring four points to key a 7-0 run that gave Westfield a 57-45 edge with 2:35 remaining.
 
Both teams struggled offensively and shot a nearly identical 29 percent from the field (Westfield was 18 for 61; Salem 18 for 62) but the Owls had a huge edge from the foul line, canning 26 of 34 free throws. Salem was 11 for 16 from the charity stripe. The Vikings made 5 of 19 3-point attempts while Westfield was only 1 for 14 from beyond the arc.
 
The only players scoring for the Owls were the five starters. Senior guard Jenny Bell stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, 10 rebounds, three assists and six steals. Freshman guard Keri Doldoorian scored 14 points, including 9 of 10 free throws.  Felix was 9 for 18 from the field and 8 for 11 from the foul line. Sophomore guard Jen Ashton finished with eight rebounds, five assists, five steals and four points despite only playing 26 minutes because of foul trouble.
 
"Gabby had a great game tonight," said Bertini. "She must have had almost a 20-20 (points-rebounds) game. Her matchup tonight was in her favor but that will be different on Thursday."
 
"I was getting banged around tonight, but I'm glad I hit my free throws and that was a big win," said the six-foot Felix, a graduate of Springfield Commerce High School.
 
Dullea led the Vikings with team highs of 18 points and seven rebounds; she scored 16 of her points during the second-half comeback. Also scoring in double figures was Ginny Fleming.