Eastern Connecticut 72, Worcester State 59
Worcester, MA --- The Worcester State College women's basketball team led the majority of the first half but couldn't hold off Eastern Connecticut State University and fell to the visitors by the final tally of, 72-59, Wednesday evening in Lancer Gymnasium. Worcester State falls to 2-8 on the year, while Eastern Connecticut, ranked 23rd in the nation, is off to the best start in school history at 12-0.
Worcester State led throughout the majority of the first frame before the Warriors closed out the half with a 12-0 run to erase a 4 point Lancer advantage at, 27-23, with 4:32 to play. A three pointer by Stephanie Smith (Penacook, NH) gave Eastern Connecticut the lead for good with 2:48 remaining in the half as the visitors took a, 35-27, lead into the break. The Lancers shot 48% from the field in the first half as they were led by junior Natasha Dallas (Roxbury, MA) who was making her Lancer debut. Dallas totaled 8 first half points. Freshman Alexis George (Worcester, MA) chipped in with 6 as the Lancers hung with the nationally ranked Warriors. Eastern Connecticut shot an impressive 54.2% from the field in the first half as they were paced by junior Nickey Morey (Columbia, CT) who reached double digits with 10 points. Junior Christina Amato (Marlboro, MA) added 9 points in the frame on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.
The second half was more of the same for Eastern Connecticut as they upped their advantage to double figures over the first 5 minutes of the second half and prevented any second half runs by the Lancers. The Warriors continued their torrid shooting as they shot 54.5% from the field in the second half and finished with a 54.3% shooting clip overall. The Lancers were outrebounded 30-20 on the night and while shooting an impressive 9-for-10 from the charity stripe, it paled to the Warriors 19-for-24 effort.
Three Lancers finished with double digit scoring with Dallas posting a team-high 16 points. Senior Lindsay DelleChiaie (Leominster, MA), who was honored in a pregame ceremony celebrating scoring her 1,000th point in Worcester State's last contest, added 12. Sophomore Bri Flanders (Southampton, MA) notched 10 points. Eastern Connecticut had five players reach double figures. Morey finished with a game-high 22 points followed by junior Ashley McFetridge (Canton, CT) who had 18. Amato remained perfect from the field with 12 points and freshman Jessica Moriarty (East Haven, CT) scored 10 as did Smith who totaled a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Worcester State returns to action on Saturday when they host
Springfield College. Eastern Connecticut will host Little
East rival and 15th ranked Southern Maine on
Saturday.