Women's Basketball Advances to MASCAC Semifinals

Worcester State 51, Westfield State 47

Box Score

Worcester, MA --- Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) had team highs of 10 points and 10 rebounds and Reilly O’Keefe (Warren, MA) scored eight points, including the game-winning basket with 27 seconds remaining, to lead Worcester State to a hard-earned 51-47 victory over Westfield State in the quarterfinals of the MASCAC women’s basketball tournament.

Worcester (14-12) , the No. 3 seed, advances to the semifinals and will face #2 seed Salem State on Friday at Bridgewater State at 8:00 PM. Westfield State, the No. 6 seed and last year’s MASCAC regular season and tournament champions, finishes 10-16.

The Owls tied the score at 47-all on a three-point basket by freshman guard Briana Kelly (Hampden, mA) with 1:37 remaining.

After a missed layups by Worcester’s Bri Flanders (Southampton, MA) and Westfield’s Kelly, the Lancers dumped the ball into Reilly O’Keefe on the block and she scored to make it 49-47 with 27 seconds remaining.

O’Keefe was fouled on the play and missed the free throw, but the Lancers grabbed their first of three offensive rebounds in the game’s critical juncture.

Worcester missed the front end of two one-on-ones following the first two offensive boards before Becca Giguere (West Brookfield, MA) sealed the victory by making two free throws with 12 seconds remaining.

Both teams played in-your-face defense and each shot was heavily contested in the electric playoff atmosphere.

Worcester only led 21-17 at halftime and trailed by as many as five points, 11-6, at the 13:25 mark. Westfield State only shot 14 percent (4-for-29) from the field in the first half but stayed within striking distance as the Blue and Gold committed 16 first-half turnovers.

Westfield State did not make a field goal and was outscored 7-1 in the final eight minutes of the first half.

The Lancers led for most of the second half, with its biggest lead six points. Westfield finally tied the score at 40-all on a driving layup by Molly Brogan (Mendon, MA) and took its only second-half lead, 42-40, with 3:42 remaining when freshman guard Jenny Bell (Northampton, MA) converted a steal into a layup.

Worcester State then regained the lead with a quick 5-0 scoring spurt on a Giguere jumper and a conventional 3-point play from Charette following a beautiful baseline drive.

Meaghen O’Keefe (Warren, MA) - a 6-1 freshman reserve center - was effective inside scoring eight points, making 4 of 5 field goal attempts. Giguere also tallied eight points in the Lancers’ balanced attack and Flanders contributed six points and nine rebounds.

Worcster State shot 49 percent from the field, including 57 percent in the second half, but Westfield stayed closed by forcing 28 Lancer turnovers. The Blue and Gold also held a huge edge on the glass, 42-27.

Junior forward Ashley Finnegan (Worcester, MA) scored a game-high 14 points for the Owls while Kelly finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. The Owls shot 29 percent from the field and only committed 12 turnovers.

Release Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information