Women's Basketball Drops 63-56 Decision To Schreiner

Kerrville, TX --- Sophomore Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) and senior Alexis George (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) each poured in totals of 11 points apiece, but it wasn't enough to help Worcester State defeat Schreiner as the Lancers fell to the Mountaineers, 63-56, on the final game of their San Antonio trip this evening.

Rogers and George combined for 11 rebounds in the setback for the Blue and Gold (5-5) while junior Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) added 10 points and four assists. Freshman Meaghan Burns (Warren, MA) and senior Kathleen Foley (Hudson, NH) both came off the bench to score nine points.

The Schreiner (3-6) were paced by freshman Olivia Swarner's (Granger, TX) game-best 15 points as junior Lia Phillips (Port Aransas, TX) netted 14 points with six boards and three assists. First-year Julissa Garrett (San Antonio, TX) also recorded 11 points and five caroms in the win.

As a team the Mountaineers out-rebounded the Lancers, 39-28, while Worcester State held advantages in points off of turnovers (21-14) and second-chance points (14-7). Both teams shot near 40 percent for the contest.

In the second stanza the hosts used an outstanding effort from the free throw line (15-for-17) to help them maintain their lead as they were held to 33 percent (7-for-21) from the field and 1-for-4 from downtown.

Schreiner held the early 12-10 midway through the first period before they utilized a 14-2 run to open up a 26-12 lead at the 5:09 mark. The Mountaineers led 29-17 before the Lancers netted five consecutive points - with four from Rogers - to trail 29-22 with 64 seconds remaining in the half.

But Garrett nailed a three-pointer to bring the lead back into double-digits as the hosts had the 33-24 advantage at the break.

Worcester State came out of the locker room on fire as they went five-for-seven from the field in a 13-3 spurt to take their first lead of the game. Foley capped off the outburst with a three-pointer as the Blue and Gold went up 37-36, five minutes into the period.

Over the next four minutes, the Mountaineers knotted the score on the back-end of a two shot free throw attempt by Garrett. At 11:15 Swaner converted the go-ahead basket on a jump shot as the hosts went up 39-37.

Ahead 44-39 with 9:09 left, the Lancers scored four straight points off jumpers by Burns and sophomore Gina Sicuso (Stoneham, MA) to trail by one, but Schreiner upped the advantage to 51-45 on a pair of buckets from the charity stripe and a three-pointer by Garrett.

With the hosts ahead 59-50 with just over two minutes remaining, the Lancers went on one final push to get within three (59-56) on back-to-back shots from downtown from Rogers and Foley.

But the Mountaineers sealed up the win with a perfect four-for-four effort from the free throw line for the final score.

Worcester State will play again on Wednesday, January 5 against WNEC at 12 PM. The Lancers will hold their annual "Math Madness" Day.

The Mountaineers entertain Texas Lutheran on Monday at 5:30.