Worcester State 70, Becker 46
Worcester, MA --- Senior Reilly O'Keefe (Warren, MA) tallied 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals to help lead Worcester State to a 70-46 triumph over Becker this evening in the second semifinal of the Worcester City Tournament.
The Lancers will entertain Nichols at 4 PM in the championship tomorrow while the Hawks will play WPI in the consolation game at 2. The Bison defeated the Engineers 70-59 earlier this evening.
Worcester State had a balanced score sheet as sophomore Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) registered nine points while classmate Molly Hein (Hudson, NH) and junior Alexis George (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) each added eight apiece. Freshman Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) came off the bench to produce seven points, four rebounds and four assists while senior Bri Flanders (Southampton, MA) corralled a team-best nine boards.
Becker was paced by junior Heidi Miller (Sanbornton, NH) who had a near double-double with 13 points and nine caroms while senior Courtney Fiske (Westfield, MA) and freshman Katelyn Cavanough (Belchertown, MA) chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively.
Worcester State opened the contest with an early 8-0 lead before Becker made it an 11-8 game with 11:28 left in the first half. Clinging to an 18-15 edge at 7:36, the Lancers went on an 18-6 spurt to close out the stanza.
WSC would maintain double-digit lead for the rest of the contest as Becker did not threaten the rest of the way.
Despite winning the contest, the Lancers would only shoot 37% (25-for-70) from the field, but they did connect for 39% from three point land (7-for-18). Becker was held to 27% inside the arc (15-for-55) and the Hawks scored 14 of their 46 points from the charity stripe.
The Lancers held advantages on the boards (52-41), the offensive glass (18-11), in the paint (26-12) and they had a five point margin in points off turnovers (22-17). WSC also swiped 19 balls as they caused 28 Hawk turnovers.