WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University women's basketball team fell short in its comeback effort in a 45-41 loss to WPI in the championship of the Worcester City Tournament Sunday evening at John P. Brissette Court.
With the loss, Worcester State drops to 1-1 overall on the season, while WPI improves to 2-0.
The teams played an extremely even first quarter, and were tied at 15-15 at the end of one. Worcester State guard Mya Mosley (Worcester, Mass.) led all players in the quarter with six points.
WPI pulled ahead in the second quarter to take a 30-25 lead into the locker room. Seven different players all hit one shot in the quarter for the Engineers, with Alana Keating (Leominster, Mass.) hitting her team's only 3-pointer of the quarter.
WPI widened its lead in the third, outscoring the Lancers by a margin of 13-8 to take a 10-point lead into the fourth.
In the final quarter, Worcester State's defense kicked it into gear, allowing just two points on free throws and no field goals, but WPI's defense also came up big to keep the Lancers at bay. Worcester State was unable to capitalize on the defensive surge, and fell by four points.
Mosley finished as the game's leading scorer with 18 points, while rookie Erin Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored 10 points for the Lancers. Spencer Vinson (Los Angeles, Calif.) was the leading scorer for the visitors, putting up nine points.
After the game, Keating was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while WPI junior Sara Lyons (Pittsford, N.Y.), Worcester's Mosley, Clark University's Emily Sifferlen (North Andover, Mass.), and Becker's Natasha Pacheco (Fairfax, Va.) were all named to the All-Tournament team.
Worcester State will return to the court on Tuesday evening for a non-conference battle against Mount Holyoke College.
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