Worcester State 49, Westfield State 42
Worcester, MA --- Senior forward Bri Flanders (Southampton, MA) registered 10 points and 8 rebounds in a balanced scoring attack to help lead Worcester State to a 49-42 victory this evening over Westfield State in MASCAC Women's Basketball this evening at the Lancer Gymnasium.
With the win the Lancers improve to 8-5 and 2-0 in the conference while the Owls slip to 6-7 and 0-2 in the MASCAC.
WSC was also led by sophomore Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) and junior Kathleen Foley (Hudson, NH) each recorded 8 points apiece while freshman Gina Sicuso (Stoneham, MA) added 5 points and 7 boards in 11 minutes of action. Third-year teammates Alexis George (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) and Becca Giguere (West Brookfield, MA) finished off the evening combining for 7 assists.
Junior Cassy Jouannet (Conway, MA) tallied team-bests of 9 points and 8 caroms while classmate Ashley Finnegan (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) added 6 points and 7 rebounds. Senior Molly Brogan (Mendon, MA) chipped in with 7 points while freshman Briana Kelly (Hampden, MA) swiped 3 balls.
After a pair of lead changes and one tie, Worcester State took a 10-8 lead on a three-pointer by Foley at 10:56. Ahead 14-11, four minutes later, the Lancers went on a 13-3 run to close out the half and take a 27-14 advantage into the locker room.
Over the first eight minutes of the second stanza both teams traded baskets as Worcester State maintained double-digits, but led by no more than 15 points at 14:06 (38-23). With WSC up 40-30 at the 9:53 mark, the Owls outscored the Lancers 12-6 to trail by just four points with 3:11 left (46-42).
There would be no scoring over the next 2 ½ minutes as Worcester State would play tenacious defense - despite three turnovers on offense - to keep Westfield State off the board to force a pair of missed jump shots and a wasted opportunity at the charity stripe in the bonus.
In the contests final 30 seconds, the Lancers would miss a pair of free throw opportunities and come up with two key boards each time before Flanders finally sunk two consecutive points to ice the game.
Worcester State would control the paint and hold the lead in points off of turnovers (13-10) while Westfield State held slim margins on second chance points (12-8), total rebounds (33-31), offensive boards (13-9) and bench points (21-20).
The Lancers would hold the Owls to go 20 percent from the field in the opening stanza (5-for-25) before the visitors improve for 41 percent in the seconds half (9-for-22). Westfield State would make just three of their 14 attempts from three point land while they used a 9-for-11 performance from the charity stripe in the final period to get back into the game.
WSC would shoot for 40 percent for the game (19-for-47) and shoot 8-for-15 from the free throw line (53%).
Both teams will face Little East opponents in non-conference action on Thursday. The Lancers will entertain Keene State at noon while the Owls travel to Eastern Connecticut for a 7 PM tip-off.