KEENE, N.H. – Trailing by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, the Worcester State women's basketball team battled all the way back to force overtime and then doubled up Keene State in the extra period for a 68-63 victory on Tuesday afternoon at Spaulding Gym.
Worcester State (3-4) didn't have the lead at any point during regulation, but finally tied the game with one minute remaining on a jumper by Gigi LeMay (Grafton, Mass.), who led the team with 14 points. In the final 8:29 of the fourth quarter, Worcester outscored Keene State 16-5 on their way to tying the game.
Keene State missed two free-throws with three seconds left in a tie game that would have put pressure on the Lancers to score at the buzzer. Foul shots were a key factor in this game, with Worcester State going 24-36 and Keene making just 7 of 20 opportunities at the charity stripe.
It took more than three of the five minutes of the extra period for either team to score, but Calli Korbey (Hopkinton, Mass.) gave the Lancers the lead for good with a jumper at 1:45 and a pair of made free throws the next time down the court. Rylee Burgess scored for the Owls, but that was the only field goal the hosts would make in overtime until a three-pointer at the buzzer by Brianna Metellus. By that point, Worcester had already opened up an 8-point lead with the help of Korbey, Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, Mass.), LeMay and Sarah Blomgren (Lunenburg, Mass.).
Keene jumped out to a 20-9 lead in the first quarter and extended their advantage to 15 by halftime. They shot 14-33 from the field and 4-9 from three-point land in the first half, but in the third and fourth quarters, managed just 8-22 and 3-11 from deep. Keene also went 0-6 from the foul line in the second half and overtime.
Blomgren had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds for Worcester, along with three assists. LeMay had eight rebounds and three steals, while Elizabeth Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) filled the state sheet with seven points, eight rebounds, four steals, a block and two assists. Thomas and Korbey each had eight points and Erin Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) had nine points, two steals and two dimes. Thomas had a team-high four assists.
Today's game was the first of six straight road games for the Lancers. They will next play on Tuesday, November 30th at Wellesley, with tip set for 7:00 PM.