Worcester, MA --- Westfield State senior Cassy Jouannet (Conway, MA) notched game-high's of 20 points and 12 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season to lead the Owls to a 48-39 victory over Worcester State in a MASCAC women's basketball matchup on Thursday evening.
With the triumph the MASCAC regular season champion Owls, winners of ten straight contests, improve their record to 19-5 overall and 10-1 in the conference while the Lancers fall to 11-13 and 5-6 in league play.
Ironically, the last setback for Westfield State came on January 11 at the hands to Worcester State who handed them their only loss thus far in their regular-season conference slate.
Jouannet doled out four assists for the Owls as classmate Ashley Finnegan (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) was a rebound shy of a double-double of her own as she pulled down nine boards and tossed in 12 points. Second-year teammates Courtney DelRatez (Adams, MA) added six points and four defensive boards on the night and Jenny Bell (Northampton, MA) pitched in with eight caroms.
Senior Alexis George (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) scored 10 points to go along with three rebounds as second-year Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) also aided the Lancers with eight points and seven boards. Senior Becca Giguere (West Brookfield, MA) filled the stat sheet with two assists and a pair of swipes.
Both teams started off the contest by not taking care of the ball as the two squads combined for 13 turnovers over the first eight minutes of the game before a three-pointer by sophomore Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) snapped a 2-2 tie. Over the next seven minutes the Lancer lead would balloon to as much as five behind a trey by George with 5:18 remaining (16-11).
But DelRatez would help the Owls respond as she gave the visitors a 17-16 advantage with consecutive shots from downtown. Two straight layups from Finnegan would then give the Owls a 22-16 edge at the halftime break.
Coming out of the locker room, Westfield State used a 9-3 run for a 31-19 advantage with 13:07 on the clock before Worcester State responded with a pair of three-pointers by O'Keefe and a lay-up by junior Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) to threaten at the midway point (31-27).
Finnegan and Jouannet then teamed up to slowly increase the advantage for Westfield State as they would combine for six of the next nine points for a 39-27 advantage with 4:55 left.
The Lancers would get as close as nine three times over the course of the rest of the game, but they would never get back into the contest. Westfield State led by as many as 14 points with 1:38 remaining.
The visitors held a commanding edge in the paint as they outscored the Lancers 30-6 and held a slim 13-9 lead on points off turnovers. The Owls also dominated the backboards with a 41-27 margin in total rebounds and a 12-5 edge on the offensive glass.
Despite their early struggles, both squads distributed the ball well. Worcester State handed out 12 assists for 14 field goals while Westfield State dished out 13 assists for 19 made shots.
The two teams will end the regular season on Saturday as Worcester State ventures to Salem State for a 4 PM road contest while Westfield State hosts Fitchburg State at one o'clock.