BY NICK IRONSIDE // FEB. 7, 2013 //

Curry’s women’s basketball team shot just 26 percent from the field in a 56-47 home loss to Western New England University on Wednesday night.

The Colonels found themselves tied late in the game with the Golden Bears after trailing by 10 points at the half. But Curry was never able to take the lead, due in large part to poor shooting.

Kylie Beltz led the Colonels with a team-high 17 points. // Photo courtesy of Curry Athletics.

“We shot 27 percent in the first half, and that’s just horrendous,” said Colonels coach Fran Elms. “You can’t do that. Shooting that percentage…you’re not going to do too well.”

It took Curry four minutes to get its first points of the game, and less than a minute later the team was already staring at an 11-2 deficit against the 14-8 Golden Bears (11-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference).

Sophomore guard Kylie Beltz—Curry’s leading scorer with 17 points—was upset with the team’s slow start.

“It’s frustrating,” said Beltz, who was 4-for-18 from the field. “It’s happened to us in multiple games, and very few times have we been successful at coming out on top. It’s hard to come back.”

The Colonels did tie the score at one point in the second half. With a little more than four minutes remaining in the game, junior guard Ashley Assarian hit a three-pointer that leveled the score at 43.

But Western New England guard Emily Savino, who scored a game-high 20 points, hit two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Golden Bears a 49-43 lead with just over three minutes left. The Colonels never found a way back.

Savino “is a great player,” said Elms. “She doesn’t really need anyone to do anything for her. She creates her own offense.”

Savino finished shooting 7-of-11 from the field, while Western New England freshman Chelsea Vujs, who can play as a guard or forward at 5-foot-11, ended the game with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Despite the Golden Bears’ sixth win in a row, head coach Nicole Chaszar wasn’t pleased with her team’s performance.

“We didn’t play very smart today,” she said. “The key was to not have any lack on defense and keep dribble penetration out. We didn’t do a very good job of that today, but we hung in there, we stayed tough and got a couple of key baskets during a couple of key points.”

The Colonels, now 9-13 overall (5-10 in conference) outscored the Golden Bears 26-25 in the second half, but Elms didn’t see that as a positive.

“Unfortunately, winning the second half doesn’t do anything for us,” Elms said. “It doesn’t take the sting away at all. Unless you win the game, it’s just a bad feeling.”