Women's Basketball Falls to Worcester State, 63-50

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Worcester State University women's basketball team posted a 63-50 victory over Bridgewater State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center.

The Lancers improve to 13-5 on the season and 4-1 in the MASCAC, while the host Bears fall to 7-11 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

Senior center Brittany Herring (West Brookfield, Mass.) paced Worcester State with 18 points on 8 of 13 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, four steals and four blocked shots.

Senior guard Kate Surprenant (Pelham, N.H.) added 12 points and four assists for the Lancers, while junior guard Catherine Sweeney (Lowell, Mass.) checked in with ten points, six assists and a pair of steals.

Senior guard Olivia DelGrosso (Ledyard, Conn.) tallied 18 points to lead the way for Bridgewater State, while classmate Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds, six assists, a steal and a blocked shot. DaSilva knocked down 6 of 10 field goals and converted her only three-point attempt. BSU senior forward Kailyn Aguiar (Acushnet, Mass.) checked in with eight points on 4 of 4 shooting to go along with seven boards (four offensive), two assists and three steals.

Worcester trailed 9-8 after a low-scoring first quarter. Down one (22-21) with 2:35 remaining until halftime, the Lancers closed out the second quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 30-24 lead into the break. Four different players scored for the visitors during the late run.

Herring tallied ten points in the first half to lead all players, while DaSilva paced the Bears with nine. Worcester shot 65% (13-20) from the floor in the first half including a scorching 10-for-14 (71%) in the second quarter. Bridgewater connected on 10 of 29 (35%) field goal attempts over the first two quarters and held a 10-1 edge on the offensive glass.

The Lancers outscored the Bears 13-4 over the first 5 ½ minutes of the third quarter as the visitors opened up a 15-point lead (43-28). Bridgewater answered with a 11-1 run to cut the deficit to five, 44-39, before a Herring layup closed out the scoring in the period. DelGrosso scored eight points during the BSU run including a pair of three-point plays.

A 9-2 spurt to open the fourth quarter highlighted by a pair of three-point field goals by Surprenant staked the Lancers to a 14-point lead, 55-41, with five minutes left to play. Worcester would get up by as many as 16 points (59-43) in the period before coming away with the 63-50 win.

Worcester shot 55% (24-44) for the game, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, and the Lancers finished with a 40-24 edge in points in the paint. The visitors did struggle at the free throw line converting just 11 of 20 (55%) free throw attempts.

Bridgewater connected on 36% of its field goals attempts and went 4-for-12 (33%) from behind the arc and just 6-for-12 (50%) at the charity stripe. The Bears held a 36-28 rebounding advantage with a decided 19-7 edge on the offensive glass.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Thursday evening at 7:30. The Bears travel to Fitchburg State University to take on the Falcons, while the Lancers entertain the Owls of Westfield State University.