MCLA's Wehner Makes 1,000th Career Rebound

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Jen Wehner collected her 1,000th career rebound on Friday.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The University of Southern Maine rallied in the final minutes to defeat the MCLA Trailblazers 78-75 on Friday in the second game of the Southern Maine Holiday Classic in Gorham, Maine.  

MCLA's Jen Wehner collected her 1,000th career rebound in the game as she tallied a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds in defeat. With her 18 points, Wehner is now just 11 points away from breaking MCLA's all-time scoring mark currently held by Pam Barton (1,321 points).

The Huskies will move on to face Babson College in the championship game, while MCLA will challenge the University of Wisconsin at Stout in the consolation game Saturday at 1 p.m.

USM (7-3 overall) was led by Haley Jordan, who scored a game-high 27 points. Courtney Cochran added 18 points and 16 boards.

Trailblazer Alie Dobrovolc scored a team high 19 points while Lucy Tremblay added 14 for MCLA (5-5 overall).

Wehner entered the contest needing just two rebounds to reach 1,000. After a bit of a slow start, she reached the milestone with 12:52 remaining in the first half collecting a miss from USM's Courtney Cochran. Prior to the milestone, she had already become MCLA's all-time leading rebounder. USM scored the final basket of the half to grab a 30-28 lead at intermission.

The second half was a seesaw battle as there were multiple lead changes. Neither team led by more than five points in the second half. Dobrovolc's jumper with 2:49 to play put MCLA ahead 69-65. USM's Cochran answered with four straight free throws tying the game at 69.

Dobrovolc made one of two from the stripe to give MCLA a slim one-point edge before USM surged ahead.  Jordan began the 6-0 spurt with a pair from the line and a jumper before Nicole Garland's free throw's gave USM a 75-70 lead with just 34 seconds left. MCLA would not quit as Wehner knocked down two free throws of her own to trim the lead to just three.

Garland was clutch again with a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left before Tremblay buried a deep three from the right wing cutting the margin to 77-75. The Huskies Kim Rivet hit the back end of two shots pushing the lead to three and Katelyn Chenevert's three pointer as time winded down missed the mark.

MCLA sprinted out to a 10-point lead on more than one occasion in the opening half as both teams showed signs of the semester layoff. Trailblazer Danielle Scolpino's jumper gave MCLA a 22-12 lead with 8:37 remaining until halftime. MCLA would go cold however, collecting only three baskets the remainder of the half while the hosts rallied.

USM used a 12-2 run to pull even at 26 apiece before scoring the final basket of the half in the closing seconds. The bucket gave the Huskies their only lead of the opening stanza.

Both teams were solid from the stripe as MCLA shot 15-18 (83 percent) while the Huskies were 29-38 (76 percent). Each team showed some rust as MCLA committed 23 turnovers while USM added 16.
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Companion Corner Grey Boy at No Paws Left Behind

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There's a cat No Paws Left Behind still waiting for his forever home.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. He was previously highlighted but he now has new information.

Grey Boy is 10 years old and is a gray and white domestic shorthair and was previously highlighted on Companion Corner.

The shelter's Executive Director Noelle Howland introduced us to him and his long journey to be ready for adoption.

"He's been here a couple months. He was a transfer from a rescue in Bennington. They were out of space, so we had taken him in with a few other cats. So he's been here a couple months. He came in with what we believed was a respiratory infection," she said. "So it took us a little bit to get him ready, and then he also needed a dental. So he has nice, clean teeth. He had some teeth removed, and then he has to go back in and have one more dental. So he'll be all ready to go."

It was previously thought that he has feline herpes but he was recently diagnosed with a palette fracture because of how bad his dental disease was, which is what is causing his sneezing. He can now go home with cats, a cat-savvy dog and children.

"He has had two dentals since being with us. Due to the palate fracture he will be sneezy for the rest of his life, not contagious sneezing, but that doesn’t stop him from living a perfectly happy life. He should be on wet food with chunks due to this and since he has had many teeth removed," Howland said.

Grey Boy loves to play with toys and enjoy treats. He would also love to have a window to lounge or bird-watch in.

"He is not afraid of anything. He's very curious, so I'm sure he'd love if you have windows for him to look out of. He still plays, even though he's 10 it does not stop him. So any home would be a good fit for him."

Now that he is ready to be adopted, he is excited. When you walk into the room with him he will rub up against your leg introducing himself and asking to be pet.

"Usually, I would say, when you're walking, he'll bonk into you so he might catch you off guard a little bit. He constantly is rubbing against you," Howland said. "He really, I would say he's lazy when you want him to be, and he's active when you want him to be. He'll play with toys. He's usually lounging away. And then when he comes out he'll play. He loves it. So, very friendly, easy going cat."

He is now perfectly healthy with his dentals all done and veterinary care up to date and is ready to find his forever family.

"I would say the friendliest, easiest cat you could have. He's just, he's just gonna be a little sneezy sometimes, but that doesn't stop him from doing anything," she said.

Grey Boy's adoption fee is sponsored by Rooted in Balance Counseling LLC.

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