WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's Kaitlyn Berkel (Waterford, Conn.) and Emily Carens (Northboro, Mass.) picked up career high's in the Lancers' 96-91 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) loss to Westfield State Thursday evening inside Lancer Gymnasium.
With the loss, the Lancers dip to 7-12 and 3-3 in the MASCAC. Westfield State advances to 12-6 and remains undefeated in conference at 6-0.
Berkel converted 12-of-19 (63.2%) shots and made a pair of free throws to total the career high. Carens made 2-of-5 field goals and went 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the charity stripe to total 11. Also scoring in double digits for the Lancers were Bianca Langford (Worcester, Mass.) with 19, Britt Herring (W. Brookfield, Mass.) with 18 and Kate Surprenant (Pelham, N.H.) with 10. Langford registered a double-double leading the boards with 13.
Westfield State's Jill Valley (Orange, Mass.) led the Owls with 26 points as she went 11-of-21 (52.4%) from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and converted 2-of-4 free throws. She also picked up five rebounds (four offensive) and registered a game-high five steals. Also scoring in double figures for the Owls was Kirsy Segarra (Holyoke, Mass.) with 15 points. Assisting the offense was Chelsea Moussette (Southampton, Mass.) who collected a game-high nine assists.
Westfield State jumped off to a quick start as they saw their largest lead of the half (10) 6:20 into the contest after Valley made two back-to-back shots and a free throw. The Owls kept an eight point lead throughout the remainder of the first stanza.
Worcester State started a run in the first minute of the second when Berkel and Langford put up numbers on the scoreboard and cut the deficit to just four. Westfield's Ashely Giampetruzzi (Manchester, N.H.) responded with a layup, but Worcester State's Herring and Carens came back with another four points to bring them within two. The Lancers got within one halfway through the second quarter, however the Owls ignited a 6-0 run to increase their lead to seven to end the half with a 48-41 advantage.
The Owls kept their lead in the beginning of the third quarter until Worcester State tied the game up halfway through on layups from Langford and Berkel. It wasn't long after that the Blue and Gold saw their first lead of the game following a pair of free throws from Surprenant with 3:39 left in the third.
The third quarter saw four more ties, and the Lancers ended up on top 72-70 going into the fourth. After back and forth play throughout the fourth period that saw three ties, Westfield's Rebecca Sapouckey (Chicoppe, Mass.) sparked a 10-6 run to conclude the game in the Owls favor 96-91.
Worcester State shot 50.7% from the field, while the Owls shot 44.4%. However the Owls converted 8-of-20 (40%) triples while the Lancers didn't see one. Westfield State also shot 80% as a team from the free throw line, while the Lancers stood at 67.7%.
Both teams resume MASCAC play on Saturday when the Lancers host MLCA, and the Owls travel to Fitchburg State.