DUDLEY, Mass. – The Worcester State University women's basketball team scored 27 points and held their opponents to just seven in the fourth quarter to pull away from Nichols College for a 73-48 win behind a strong performance by sophomore guard Catherine Sweeney (Lowell, Mass.) who was one assist shy of a triple-double.
THE BASICS
December 7, 2017
Nichols Athletic Center
Score: Worcester State 73, Nichols College 48
Records: Worcester State (5-3) | Nichols College (2-4)
1ST QUARTER
Scoring began with the Lancers' Sam Maglione (Lancaster, Mass.) hitting a 3-point shot from the top of the key. Halfway through the quarter with Nichols behind, Allison Cerrato (Rockland, Mass.) snuck a pass through the Lancer defense for an easy layup for Amy Assad (Millis, Mass.) to give the Bison the lead. After a Bison foul, Colleen Cutting (Auburn, Mass.) inbounded the ball to Brianna Hackett (Hollis, N.H.) for a three at the top right corner, to regain the lead at 10-9. With the Lancers up, Kaitlyn Berkel (Waterford, Conn.) scored on a baseline drive to give the Lancers a 15-12 lead. The Lancers ended the period up on the Bison 17-12. Hackett finished the quarter with six points and a rebound.
2ND QUARTER
Nichols opened scoring in the period with Assad hitting a jumper just inside the arc to close the gap and make it 17-14. They then followed by scoring on a Cerrato layup after a pass by Jessica Larsh (Bolton, Conn.), making it a one-point game. Receiving a pass in the lane from Shaye Lane (Dracut, Mass.), Sweeney was able to go in for a layup to extend the lead to four at a score of 20-16 Lancers. Assad then passed the ball into Brittany Donovan (Newport, R.I.) for a Layup and a foul, Donovan then hit the shot to cut the lead down to three at a score of 22-19. Isabella Nerney (Guilford, Conn.), responded after a pair of free throws went down for the Lancers, with a 3-pointer to cut the lead down to 28-27, where the score would stay at halftime.
3RD QUARTER
Striking quickly the Bison scored on a Layup by Beth Laing (Sparta, N.J.), for the Bison to take the lead by one. Sweeney then got to the line and scored the next three points. With the Lancers up 31-29, Nerney inbounded the ball to Laing who hit a jumper while being fouled, leading to the lead to change hands after she made the free throw, Bison lead 32-31. Lancers down 34-33, Britt Herring (West Brookfield, Mass.) made a shot from mid-range to put the Lancers up. Before time expired in the half Brooke Packard (Dudley, Mass.) gave the Bison a boost as she hit a jumper to bring the score to within six, Lancers up 47-41.
4TH QUARTER
Cerrato grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a layup. Contact brought her to the line where she was able to make the free throw shrinking the Lancers lead to three. With just over 6:30 remaining on the clock, Hackett hit a three and brought the lead up to 10 with the Lancers up, 56-46. The Lancers held the Bison scoreless for most of the waning minutes until Desiree Rivera (Windham, Conn.) hit a layup. The Game ended with Worcester State coming out on top 73-48.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Lancers' point-leader was Berkel with 14.
- Sweeney finished one assist shy of a triple-double as she gathered 13 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists.
- Herring tallied a career-high nine blocks on the game to pair with her 10 points. He nine blocks are one short of the school record that stands at 10.
- Worcester State shot 37.5% from the field and 43.8% from beyond the arc.
- The Lancers shot 75% from the free throw line (12-16), while the Bison shot 90% (9-10).
- For the Bison, Assad scored 15 points.
- The game saw four ties and 10 lead changes.
- Nichols and Worcester State met for the 19th time in program history, as the Lancers lead the all-time series, 13-6.
UP NEXT
The Lancers play next on Saturday (Dec. 9) at home against Springfield before taking a few weeks for the holiday.
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Release written by Nicholas Gendreau | Sports Information Intern