Women's Basketball Drops 74-52 Setback To Westfield State

Westfield, MA --- Behind a 21-point performance Westfield State junior Courtney Kegresse (Adams, MA), who went seven-for-nine from beyond the arc, the Owls earned the 74-52 triumph over Worcester State this evening in MASCAC women's basketball action.

Westfield State (11-10, 4-4 MASCAC) was also paced by freshman Jen Ashton (Beverly, MA) who finished with 12 points, six rebounds and six assists while third-year Angela Paterson (Nantucket, MA) added 15 points in 25 minutes of action.

Junior Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) led the Lancers (9-12, 3-5 MASCAC) with a team-high 12 points as classmate Meghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) notched her second double-double this season with 10 points and a game-best 11 boards. Sophomore Meaghan Burns (W. Brookfield, MA) and first-year Shannen El-Qasem (Rutland, MA) both chipped in with 10 points apiece.

Westfield State jumped out to a 15-8 advantage six minutes into the game and led by seven with 8:16 on the clock (24-17). The Lancers would cut the deficit to three, twice in the remainder of the frame, but the Owls would hold on for the 29-25 edge at the intermission.

Over the first 10 minutes of the second period, the hosts would continue to lead by two-three possessions as Worcester State trailed by four on two occasions and by five with 9:58 left (48-43).

But the Owls would take advantage of several missed shots and a technical foul to go on a 12-0 run with seven points in the scoring surge from Paterson to open up the 60-43 lead with 7:31 remaining.

Westfield State maintain their double-digit advantage would cruise ahead and earn their third-straight victory as they would finish shooting 40 percent for the contest (27-for-67).

The Owls had a slim edge in the paint (20-18), but dominated the key columns that included points off turnovers (16-9) and second-chance scoring (15-9) while also causing more than two-thirds of WSU's 18 miscues with 11 steals.

The Blue and Gold led in total rebounds (40-36) and offensive caroms (13-12).

Kegresses' scorching performance from downtown was just two trey's shy of the school record held by current Westfield State coach, Andrea Bertini. Ashton also eclipsed the program mark for steals with 98 this season, passing the previous mark of Robin Wainwright who it in 1993.

With eight points tonight, senior Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) now has exactly 1,100 points in her four-year career wearing a Lancer uniform and is 44 away from 9th place on the all-time scoring list.

Both squads will entertain MASCAC opponents on Saturday. Worcester State hosts MCLA at 3:30 while the Owls entertain Bridgewater State at 1 PM.