By John Conceison, Sports Copy Editor
November 14, 2013
Worcester, MA --- For so many seasons, the routine was productive. Meaghan O'Keefe would give a little yell, Meaghan Burns would feed to her, and the result was two points, sometimes three after a foul shot.
Now Worcester State could be in for a little trouble in games if Burns keeps passing to O'Keefe, who is on the sideline as a women's basketball assistant coach after graduating in the spring. But the two, who teamed for five years at Quaboag Regional and three with the Lancers, know their new roles well entering their opener tonight against WPI in the Worcester City Tip-Off at Clark.
"It's still kind of the same, but the only difference is she's giving me tips in practice and in games," said Burns, a senior guard entering this season needing only 239 points for 1,000 career. "I still consider her my teammate, almost."
"She's been my best friend since seventh grade," said O'Keefe, who was MASCAC Player of the Year after averaging 15.8 points and 12.6 rebounds for the Worcester State frontcourt last season. "I really don't talk with her about basketball outside of basketball, but if I tell her something in basketball, she'll listen to me."
Like after Sunday's exhibition loss at Division 1 University of New Hampshire.
"I didn't think she did enough in that scrimmage," said O'Keefe, who now teaches at Quaboag. "And I told her that after, I said you need to shoot more, you shot five times. She's our best player, and that's not going to cut it."
"She's right," said Burns, who averaged 11.2 points last season, second to O'Keefe. "We don't have Meaghan this year, we don't have a guaranteed 15-20 points coming from the post, and I need to step up, and I think I will."
Coach Karen Tessmer has no doubt Burns is raising her game.
"She's certainly a solid basketball player, and she has the skills and stats to back that up," Tessmer said. "We can count on her to get a hand on the ball while guarding a top scorer on the other team. She's a good rebounder, and offensively, she has a terrific shot and is a fine passer. She takes it strong to the basket, going left or right, and she runs the floor well.
"Overall, just a solid player, she leads by example, and expects her teammates to follow suit."
"Meaghan has the basketball smarts to lead this team to success," said O'Keefe, who teamed with sisters Kelsey and Reilly as well as Burns during Quaboag's Division 3 championship runs. "She has the skills, and she's really athletic. You stick her on the other team's best player, and she'll shut her down."
Tessmer is happy to have O'Keefe on staff this season.
"It's been enjoyable to have her presence around," said Tessmer, who also is joined on the sideline by associate head coach Meredith Galena for a 14th season and newcomer Katy Howard, a recent Assumption grad and 1,000 point scorer.
"Certainly her basketball skills have been helpful, if she has to demonstrate something (in practice), or to guard one of our post players, or just to offer her post insight. It's good to have someone who knows the program, to help some of our newcomers with the transition."
"It's certainly going to be different this season," O'Keefe said. "We're relying more on the guards now, and there are a lot of hard-working girls who know their roles."
One thing that hasn't changed is the challenging nonleague schedule to complement the ever-competitive MASCAC slate.
The Lancers were only 13-13 overall last season, yet that challenge helped them to a 9-3 performance in the league. And while Worcester State's gym undergoes renovations this season, home games will be played at other area colleges.
Included for 2013-14 are a two-game jaunt to New York next week, December games at Trinity, Wesleyan and Bowdoin, and a weeklong trip to Costa Rica just after Christmas. A traveling party of 30, including team members, nursing students and faculty, will be providing community service, and the Lancers will face the Costa Rica national team twice.
"I love that we play really tough, challenging games because that gets us ready for the conference games," Burns said. "It doesn't reflect on our overall record, but I love those challenging games."
As a nursing student, Burns will have added involvement in Costa Rica. Considering the nature of her game, it's no surprise where she wants to work in a hospital after graduation.
"I would love to work in the ER. It's fast-paced, always challenging, there's something different every day. You always have to be on your toes."
Just the way she plans to be on the court this season.
Photo Above Courtesy of Worcester Telegram & Gazette
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