Worcester, MA --- Senior Alexis George (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) and sophomore Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) combined for 15 second-half points to help lead Worcester State to a 51-46 victory this evening over Wesleyan in non conference women's basketball action at the Lancer Gymnasium.
George helped propel the Lancers (4-3) with 13 points and five rebounds while O'Keefe notched 10 points, six boards, four blocks and a pair of steals. Second-year Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) and junior Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) each finished with nine and eight points, respectively, as senior Becca Giguere (W. Brookfield, MA) dished out seven of the teams 12 assists.
The Cardinals (4-2) were led by senior Erin Gold (New Hope, PA) who tallied a squad-high 13 points. Junior Sam LaCroce (Prospect, CT) also corralled 10 caroms with three steals while classmate Eileen Gaffney (Manhassett, NY) added 10 points for the visitors.
Worcester State held a slight edge in the rebounding column (35-32) as they also had a 10-9 advantage on the offensive glass and a commanding 15-2 lead in second chance points. The contest was a defensive battle as Wesleyan shot just 30 percent from the floor (14-for-46) while the Blue and Gold connected for 20 of their 53 attempts from the floor (38 percent).
Neither squad shot well from beyond the arc as they combined to hit 23 percent from downtown (5-for-22).
Leading 30-24 at the intermission, Wesleyan upped their advantage by as much as 35-28 early on in the second stanza before George and Charette then converted back-to-back field goals to get the Lancers within three (35-32) at the 16:00 minute mark.
Neither team would score over the next four minutes of play as Cardinal sophomore Kendra Harris (St. Paul, MN) broke though the drought with a lay-up to put the visitors back up 37-32 with 12:53 left. But the Lancers would play outstanding team defense as they go on a 13-2 run over the next nine minutes to take a 45-36 lead with 3:58 remaining in regulation. WSU knotted the score 38-38 on a free throw by George around the 10:00 mark.
Worcester State nursed a 47-41 advantage with 2:14 remaining before freshman Amber Wessells (Montclair, NJ) nailed a three-pointer to get the Cardinals back into the game. Rogers canned consecutive free throws with 34 seconds left for the 49-44 lead, but senior McKinley Tennant (Swampscott, MA) quickly scored in the paint to make it a one-possession contest.
In the waning seconds, Wesleyan made it interesting as they made the Lancers burn back-to-back timeouts on the ensuing inbounds pass, but WSU got it off on the third try as Giguere sank a pair of free throws to help seal the win for the final score.
The Blue and Gold led 11-5 early six minutes into the game before the Cardinals used a 6-0 spurt to even up the score at 11-11 with 10:54 left in the first. Following a pair of lead changes and one tie, WSU regained the 20-15 lead on a lay-up by O'Keefe. Wesleyan then used five Lancer miscues and several missed opportunities from the field to go on a 15-4 run to close out the half.
Worcester State will wrap up their fall semester schedule with a home date with Mount Holyoke on Tuesday at 7 PM while the Cardinals will entertain Hunter at 1 o'clock on Saturday.