Honolulu, HI – Spalding (KY) senior Melinda Leavell (Radcliff, KY) tallied a game-best 18 points with five rebounds and sophomore Kerstin Hayes (Dixon, KY) added 13 points as the Golden Eagles  defeated Worcester State, 52-34, on Sunday evening at McKinley High School at the Hoop N' Surf Tournament.

With the win Spalding improves to 5-3 while Worcester State slips to 4-5 with the setback.

Junior Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) chipped in with a team-best 10 points for the Lancers as classmate Meghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) finished with seven points, five rebounds and a trio of blocks.

For the Golden Eagles, second-year Jessica Guy (Louisville, KY) came off the bench to grab eight rebounds and swipe five balls.

With Spalding ahead 10-4 at the 14:57 mark, the Golden Eagles would take advantage of poor shooting by the Blue and Gold to go on a 17-4 run over the 10 minutes as they would open up a 27-8 lead. WSU was two for 11 during the drought and coughed up the ball seven times leading to eight points.

The Golden Eagles would eventually settle for the 32-13 lead at the halftime break.

Worcester State, who actually outscored their opponents 21-20 in the second period, never threatened as the Golden Eagles maintained their double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest.

Spalding connected for a modest total of 35 percent from the floor (18-for-51), but only hit six of their 25 attempts from beyond the arc. The squad would also finish with a 17-16 edge in points off turnovers and second chance points (13-5) while they also dominated the backboards (45-31) and the offensive glass (14-11).

A big difference between the two teams was free throw shooting as the Golden Eagles were 10-for-12 and the Lancers were only 22 percent from the charity stripe (2-for-12). WSU shot 28 percent for the game (15-for-52).

Both teams will continue their schedules against George Fox of Oregon, who is ranked third in the latest D3hoops.com Division III Women's Basketball poll. Spalding takes on the Bruins at 2 PM today (EST) and the Lancers close out their trip with a 8 o'clock (EST) tip-off.