WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Worcester State University women's basketball team posted a 50-44 win over visiting Bridgewater State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest on Wednesday evening.
The host Lancers improve to 14-8 on the season and 5-4 in the MASCAC, while the Bears slip to 12-10 overall and 6-4 in conference play with their third straight setback.
Junior forward Bianca Langford (Worcester, Mass.) led the way for Worcester State as she posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 18 rebounds to go along with five blocked shots. Senior guard Julie Frankian (Millbury, Mass.) added 12 points, four boards and four assists for the Lancers, while senior forward Shannen El-Qasem (Rutland, Mass.) came off the bench to score 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting and grab four rebounds.
Senior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) paced the Bears with 18 points and 11 rebounds as she recorded her seventh double-double of the season. Boutilette also blocked three shots and recorded a season-high eight steals. She now has 320 career steals which is six shy of BSU Hall of Famer JoAnn Runge's (1983-87) all-time program mark of 326.
Worcester State led throughout most of the first half and held a 25-18 advantage with 3:51 remaining in the period. That lead quickly evaporated as Bridgewater State used a 9-0 run, highlighted by six points from Boutilette, to take a 27-25 lead. A Frankian lay-up with 12 seconds left put an end to the run as the two teams headed to the locker room with the score knotted at 27-27.
After scoring the first 11 points of the second half to open up a 38-27 lead, the Bears struggled mightily over the final 14 minutes of the contest. The visitors scored just six points the rest of the way connecting on just 2 of 17 (12%) field goal attempts during that stretch while committing six turnovers.
A lay-up by El-Qasem with 3:41 remaining put the hosts on top, 43-42. A pair of buckets by Langford sandwich around a jumper by BSU sophomore forward Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) gave the Lancers a 47-44 advantage as the clock ticked under two minutes.
Neither team would score again until freshman guard Nani Perez (Worcester, Mass.) made 1 of 2 free throws with just 28 seconds showing on the scoreboard to put Worcester up by four, 48-44. Following a BSU missed three-pointer, Frankian sealed the victory with a pair of free throws.
The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Saturday afternoon at one. The Lancers travel to Westfield State University, while the Bears entertain Fitchburg State University.