WORCESTER, Mass. -- Sophomore Alexis George (Worcester, MA) tallied a season-best 26 points while junior Brianne Flanders (Southampton, MA) grabbed a game high 12 rebounds to help propel Worcester State College to a 69-49 victory this evening over Bridgewater State in MASCAC women's basketball action at Lancer Gymnasium.
The Lancers improve to 8-15 overall and 4-7 in the MASCAC while the Bears slip to 13-9 and 6-4 in conference play. WSC also ends a six-game skid to BSC with the win and they avenge their 75-59 loss earlier this season.
Freshman Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) also helped pace Worcester State as she finished with 11 points and eight boards while junior Reilly O'Keefe (Warren, MA) and senior Erin McCullough (Harvard, MA) notched 10 and nine points, respectively. Charette and O'Keefe also handed out three assists each while McCullough chipped in with three steals.
The Bears were led by freshman Shelly DePina's (New Bedford, MA) 15 points while classmate Stephanie Houtman (New Bedford, MA) recorded 12 points. Sophomore Corey Cuddihy (Scituate, MA) swiped five basketballs while freshman Monica-Sabina Bharoocha (North Smithfield, MA) contributed 10 points.
Leading 11-6 with 14:05 left to play in the opening stanza, the Lancers went on a 22-4 run over the next six minutes to make the score 23-10. WSC led 32-19 with 2:13 remaining in the first half before the Bears scored four straight points to end the period down by only nine points (32-23). George ended the period leading all scorers with 17 points.
To open up the second frame, DePina cut the lead to seven points on Bridgewater's first possession, but Worcester State would extend the lead back up to 11 before another DePina layup at 17:30 (38-29). From that point the Lancers dominated the rest of the game as they outscored the visitors 19-4 over the next ten minutes of play to take a lead 57-31 for their largest lead at 7:42. BSC never threatened as WSC cruised ahead for the victory to help secure a MASCAC playoff spot.
Worcester State dominated the boards as they finished with a 45-28 edge with a 27-12 advantage in the second half. After the Bears shot 32% from the floor in the first period (10-for-31), the Lancers held BSC to shoot just 27% from the field (8-for-30) in the second stanza. Bridgewater State was also three for 21 from beyond the arc for the game. WSC hit at a 51% clip from the field for the entire contest.
Both teams will entertain opponents for their next game on Tuesday evening. The Lancers will host Tufts on "Senior Night" at 7 PM while the Bears will take-on Salem State also on "Senior Night" at 5:30.