Worcester, MA- The Springfield College Pride made their way into Worcester this evening to take on the Lancer women's basketball team in the final home game for Worcester State of the calendar year. Springfield, ranked 15th in the nation, came into the heart of the commonwealth on a five-game win streak. The Lancers would do their best to stop the hot Pride in their tracks.
While Worcester State was able to lead throughout the majority of the first quarter, the pride came roaring back to take a 8-7 lead with a little less than two minutes remaining in the opening 10 minutes. A few quick buckets later, and Springfield would lead 15-7 at the end of the first.
Springfield would hit their stride in the second quarter, distancing themselves from Worcester. The Pride had a double digit lead throughout a good deal of the second, with the Lancers able to pull within ten as time winded down. The score stood at 29-19 at the half.
It was all Springfield the entirety of the second half. On the defensive end, they would only surrender 10 points to Worcester State. Offensively, Springfield absolutely exploded, leading by as many as 39 points, and came away with the win by a final of 66-29.
The Pride's big win was highlighted by a monster night from senior Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.). She tallied a career-high 23 points, eight assists and six boards. Senior Erin Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) paced the Lancers with 13 points and three assists, while it was junior Katie Hurynowicz (Tyngsboro, Mass.) who led Worcester State in rebounds with seven.
Worcester State will be back at it Saturday at 1 p.m. on the road against Trinity College. They'll head into that one at 4-5 on the season, while Springfield heads back out to the western part of the state with a 7-1 record.