Worcester State 51, UMass Dartmouth 37
Worcester, MA --- Sophomore Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) notched 16 points and 7 rebounds to help lead Worcester State to a 51-37 triumph over UMass Dartmouth in non-conference women's basketball this evening at the Lancer Gymnasium.
The Lancers have now won three straight to improve to 3-1 while the Corsairs drop to 2-2 overall.
Senior Bri Flanders (Southampton, MA) grabbed a game-best 10 boards while junior Kathleen Foley (Hudson, NH) chipped in with nine points off of three made treys. Flanders, junior Becca Giguere (West Brookfield, MA) and senior Reilly O'Keefe (Warren, MA) each stole four basketballs for WSC.
UMass Dartmouth was propelled by senior Kaylin Nelson (New Bedford, MA) who poured in a match-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds while junior Tashauna Ashmeade (Hyannis, MA) had a near double-double with nine points and nine caroms. Sophomore Tessa Mullin (Fairhaven, MA) also added seven points for the Cosairs.
The Lancers had the early 4-3 lead 4½ minutes into the game before Nelson hit a layup to put UMD up 5-4 at 15:27. The lead change was the first of eight as neither team got as much as a three point cushion over the course of the rest of the period. It was Worcester State though that ended up on top as they ended the period with a 19-17 edge as they took the lead on a 3-pointer by Foley with 40 seconds left.
With WSC ahead 23-19 at the 15:44 mark, the Lancers embarked on a 14-3 run over the next 6 ½ minutes to take a 37-22 lead and control of the contest. UMass Dartmouth would get as close as 11 points with 8:33 left to play (37-26), but Worcester State would maintain the double-digit lead for the remainder of the stanza.
The Corsairs scored 26 of their 37 total points in the paint while the Lancers held a 20-11 lead in points off of turnovers with a 16-3 edge in the second half. Both squads shot poorly from downtown as WSC connected for 4 of 18 (22.2 percent) and UMD made just one of their 12 attempts.
Worcester State forced UMass Dartmouth to make 24 turnovers thanks in large part to 17 steals. WSC's also bench outscored their counterparts 14-0.
Both teams will resume their schedules after the break. Worcester State will entertain Babson at 7 PM on Monday (11/30) while the Corsairs host Bridgewater State at 6 o'clock on Tuesday (12/1).