BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior guard Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) tallied 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five steals to lead the Worcester State women's basketball team to a 71-66 victory over host Bridgewater State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Tuesday night in Bridgewater.
The visiting Lancers improve to 9-7 overall and 3-1 in the MASCAC, while the Bears fall to 11-4 on the season and 2-2 in conference play.
After trailing 15-10 with under 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Worcester used a 13-2 run over the next six minutes to take a 23-17 lead. The Lancers would never trail again. Sophomore guard Kara Rogers (Lowell, Mass.) scored seven points during the run.
Bridgewater would battle back to tied the score at 30-30 heading into the intermission, but Worcester dominated the first six minutes of the second half to open up an 11-point lead at 45-34. The Lancers got up by as many as 14 points (56-42) and held a 62-49 advantage with 5:22 left to play.
Sparked by a Corey Cuddihy (Scituate, Mass.) three-pointers, the Bears went on a 9-0 run to pull to within four points (62-58) with 2:07 remaining. Worcester, however, knocked down 7 of 10 free throws, including four from Charette, in the final two minutes to secure the victory.
Worcester senior guard Alexis George (Worcester, Mass.) led all scorers with 18 points. Sophomore center Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) added 14 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Cuddihy led the Bears with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. Junior forward Monica-Sabina Bharoocha (North Smithfield, R.I.) chipped in with 16 points, five boards and a pair of steals.
Bridgewater struggled at the charity stripe connecting on only 9 of 17 free throw attempts. The Bears also turned the ball over 26 times which led to 31 Lancer points.
Worcester also struggled with turnovers, handing the ball over 24 times. The Lancer, however, shot 51% (25-49) from the floor and knocked down 17 of 25 (68%) free throws.
Bridgewater will travel to MASCAC foe Salem State University to take on the Vikings on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Worcester is off until next Tuesday when the Lancers host Salem at 6:00 PM.