WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Freshman Dorothy Stotts came off the bench with a career-high 26 points to lead the Bears to a 76-72 overtime win over the Westfield State Owls in non-conference action on Monday afternoon. With the win, the Bears improve to 6-6; Westfield falls to 7-6. 

Julia Mann had her first double-double with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Jacqueline Ward had 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, followed by Kelly Hagerty with 10 points and four blocks. Glory Blethen added eight rebounds six points. Stotts added six boards, followed by Hagerty and Taylor Lynch with four apiece. Kira Wood had five assists. The Bears had 14 steals on the day, led by Mann, Ward, Hagerty, and Stotts, all with three.

The Bears found themselves down early, trailing 21-8 ending the first quarter. Down by as many as 18, the Bears headed into halftime with a 32-17 deficit. The Bears failed to connect from beyond the arc on 15 attempts in the first half. The Bears gained some momentum in the third quarter, outscoring the Owls by three, but still found themselves down 12 with 10 minutes to go.

The beginning of the fourth seemed to go back and forth, but the Bears did most of their damage in the final 4:44 of regulation, as Stotts made a layup to trim the lead to 10, then drained a three-pointer with 3:09 left to trim the Owls' lead to seven, at 59-52. The Bears capitlized on offensive boards by Mann and Hagerty to cut the lead. A Stotts three with 1:17 left pulled the game to within two points, then after an Owls' turnover, Ward made two free throws with 27 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 61-61. The Bears played lockdown defense through two Westfield timeouts to force overtime.

In the extra period, Stotts and Wood hit threes on Coast Guard's first two possessions, with Stotts giving the Bears their first lead of the game, and Wood extending the margin to six points to keep the Owls on the back foot for the rest of the overtime period. The Bears made seven of nine free throws in OT to secure the victory, 76-72.

The Bears are back in action on Friday, January 6 as they take on Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) at home at 1 PM.