(box score)
Freshman Jennifer Egee (Ridley Park, PA) and sophomore Vanessa Hejnas (Delran, NJ) fueled a first-half surge for Widener, which doubled up Arcadia during that span for a 58-36 victory in both teams Commonwealth Conference opener in Glenside, PA.
Widener, which scored the game's first nine points, raced to a 26-13 lead at the break by holding Arcadia to just 17 percent shooting (4-of-23) from the field. Egee scored nine points in that span and sophomore Hejnas contributed eight.
Hejnas ended with career highs of 15 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double with Egee adding 13 points for Widener, which shot 40 percent (23-of-57) from the field. Lil Carney (Narberth, PA) had nine points and nine rebounds with fellow sophomore Francesca Lee (Hainesport, NJ) adding seven and eight.
Widener (6-1, 1-0 CC), which led by as many as 28, also held a 49-28 rebounding edge and has outrebounded six of its seven opponents this season. The squad also is off to its best start since opening with the same record in 2005-06.
Angie Adams poured in 14 points for the Knights (2-4, 0-1), who were held to 25 percent shooting (12-of-49) and missed all 11 of their 3-point attempts.
The Pride have won the last five meetings with the Knights since the latter joined the league in 2008.
Widener on Saturday hosts Messiah, which just dropped out of the national rankings. The game begins at 1:00 pm, followed by the men's contest between the same schools at 3:00 pm.
