Vikings Defeat Women's Basketball In Extra Frames, 67-60

Salem State 67, Worcester State 60  OT

Box Score  |  MASCAC Tournament Bracket

Worcester, MA --- Salem State senior Danielle Jenkins (Marlboro, MA) poured in a game-high 26 points with five rebounds as she helped lead the Vikings to a 67-60 overtime triumph over Worcester State this evening in MASCAC women's basketball action.

The game was the season finale for both squads as the conference tournament will begin on Tuesday next week. #2 Salem State (18-7, 9-3 MASCAC) will receive a first-round bye and take on the winner of the Tuesday matchup against third-seeded Worcester State (13-12, 7-5 MASCAC) and #6 Westfield State at 6 PM.

Should the Lancers advance to the semifinals to face the Vikings, they will play at Bridgewater State, who will host the final two rounds of the conference tournament as the top seed on Friday and Saturday.

Freshman Brianna Wilson (Lowell, MA) notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards while sophomore Amy Barry (Manchester, NH) chipped in with 14 points with four treys.

Worcester State was propelled by sophomore Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) who totaled 15 points with eight caroms while senior Bri Flanders (Southampton, MA) added nine points and 15 rebounds.

Fourth-year Reilly O'Keefe (Warren, MA) and junior Alexis George (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) finished with 12 points apiece while they each combined for 11 boards. Third-year Becca Giguere (W. Brookfield, MA) also handed out six assists.

Salem State was up 46-39 with six minutes remaining in regulation before Worcester State went on an 11-3 spurt to take a 50-49 lead, their first of the half. The Vikings responded as Wilson scored on a lay-up, but O’Keefe nailed a three pointer at 1:15 to give WSC the 53-51 edge.

Wilson then came up big again as she netted a jumper at the top of the key to tie the score, but Charette helped the Lancers go up by two again with a jumper on the left side of the Viking basket (55-53).

With 25 seconds left, Salem State called a timeout and tried to run a play on the outside. With no success, Jenkins drove down into the paint and drew a foul that sent O’Keefe to the bench for her fifth violation. Jenkins promptly drained both free throws to knot the score.

Worcester State had a chance to score the go-ahead points with nine seconds to work with, but junior Kathleen Foley’s (Hudson, NH) three-point bid from beyond the men’s arc was just to the right of the basket.

In the extra frame the Vikings went on a 9-0 run to open things as the visitors scored seven points off three Lancer miscues. WSC got to within as five points in the closing minute of the session, but that was as close as they got. SSC went 3-for-4 from the free throw line to secure the victory.

The contest was close early on as Salem State led 15-13 with eight minutes left in the first half before they went on a 10-3 surge to end the period with a 25-16 edge.

The Vikings led by as many as 11 points and were ahead 31-24 at 15:11. Worcester State would then use a 9-4 skein to get within two (35-33). After freshman Whitney Wilson (Lowell, MA) sank a pair of free throws to put SSC up by four, a traditional three-point play by Charette got the Lancers within one (37-36). But the visitors would outscore Worcester State 9-3 over the next 2 ½ minutes to take a 46-49 lead which set the stage for the Lancers key run.

The Vikings held a 21-4 edge in points off of turnovers while the Lancers out rebounded the visitors 49-33 as they also held a 15-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Salem State also shot poorly from the free throw line as they only converted 55 percent of their shots from the charity stripe (17-for-31).

Flanders, O'Keefe along with Alison Polansky (Oxford, MA) and Stasia Twomey (Groton, MA) were honored in a pre-game ceremony on "senior day" for playing in their last regular season home game.