Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield College women's basketball program used a fourth-quarter surge to deal Worcester State a 79-60 defeat on Tuesday night in non-conference play in Blake Arena.
Worcester State sees their three-game win streak ended, with their record slipping to 5-5. Springfield, who is ranked 24th in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll, remained unbeaten with a 9-0 record.
Elizabeth Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) totalled a game-high 18 points, while Erin Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) produced nine points, five assists, and three steals.
Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.) nearly recorded a quadruple double for Springfield, with 15 points, 10 boards, nine assists, and nine steals. Sidney Wentland (Elk River, Minn.) totaled a team-best 17 points, including nine in the decisive fourth quarter, while Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) recorded 10 points, nine boards, and three blocks.
Grace Dzindolet (Holliston, Mass.) chipped in 12 points, five assists, and five boards and Jaélen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) added nine points and three steals off the bench. For the game, Springfield shot 32-for-63 (50.8%) and had 20 steals, turning 26 Lancers turnovers into 33 points.
The Lancers and the Pride traded buckets for most of the first stanza as the score was knotted at 11-11 with 3:55 remaining after Emma Found (Wakefield, Mass.) knocked down a three for the visitors. On the next possession, Hourihan dumped it in to Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) for an inside lay-in, which sparked a 10-2 run for the Pride to close the quarter. Dzindolet capped off the scoring run with a three pointer in the corner to make the score 21-13 after one.
The Lancers would cut it to 21-16 with an three from Katie Hurynowicz (Tyngsboro, Mass.) with 8:46 on the clock but that would be the closest margin of the first half as the Pride would expand its lead to 28-18 with a triple on the wing by Daubon off the kick out from Vinton. With 1:18 to go, Elizabeth Gallella would sink a three for Worcester to bring the game to a 34-27 margin, however, a tip in from Amanda Carr (West Haven, Conn.) and a pair of free throws Stephanie Lyons (Boston, Mass.) would allow Springfield to enter halftime with a 38-27 lead.
The visitors would outscore Springfield 21-15 in the third quarter as the Pride committed seven turnovers. After Wentland scored inside at 9:07 to make it a 13-point contest, the Lancers used an 8-0 push over the next 3:30 to pull within 42-37 on a putback by Elizabeth Gallella. Despite pushing their lead back to eight on five occasions, Springfield would head into the final 10 minutes of play with a 53-48 edge as Erin Gallella canned a triple with 1:14 left in the third.
Hanging on a 57-52 advantage with 7:13 remaining in regulation, Wentland took the game over and spurred a 12-3 push as she produced two three-point plays, buried a trifecta from the wing, and handed out a pair of assists to help the Pride's cushion balloon to 69-55 just over two minutes later. Vinton, who herself netted nine points in the frame to go along with five steals, finished in transition following her ninth swipe of the game inside the final minute to give the Pride a 21-point lead which would later result in a 79-60 victory.
Gigi LeMay (Grafton, Mass.) had eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks for the Lancers. Abby St. Martin (Putnam, Conn.) and Found each chipped in eight points off the bench.
After taking some time off, Worcester State will travel to Texas for a pair of games between Christmas and New Years. They will play at Trinity Texas on December 28th and then head to Texas Lutheran on December 30th.