Women's Basketball Advances To MASCAC Tournament Semifinal

Westfield, MA --- Fourth-seeded Worcester State had three players post double-doubles, including a career high 17 points with 11 rebounds from freshman Shannen El-Qasem (Rutland, MA) as the Lancers defeated #4 Westfield State, 61-52, in the quarterfinals of the MASCAC women's basketball tournament.

The Blue and Gold (13-13) advance to the semifinals and will play top-seed Bridgewater State on Friday at 5:30 in Bridgewater. Westfield State, which defeated Worcester twice during the regular season, finishes 13-13.

The Lancers snapped a three-game drought as the fifth seed, a five-game losing streak on the road in the MASCAC playoffs since the 2002-03 campaign and are now 5-10 against the Owls in the postseason.

They have played Westfield State in each of the last six years in the conference tournament dating back to the 2006-07 season, defeating them just twice in that stretch.

Trailing 25-20 at halftime, the Lancers rallied for the road victory sparked by sensational free throw shooting and double-double efforts from El-Qasem, senior Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven,MA) and junior Meghan O'Keefe (Warren,MA). Charette finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds and O'Keefe had 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Lancers were almost perfect from the foul line, making 25-of-28 attempts, including 19-for-20 in the second half as they outscored the struggling Owls, 41-27.

Charette was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe and sophomore Meaghan Burns (West Brookfield, MA) was 8-for-8 to finish with eight points.

Both teams shot an identical 31 percent from the field but Worcester canned four 3-pointers while limiting Westfield to 1-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Westfield did turn in a solid effort from the foul line (17-for-26) but the Owls couldn't match the Lancers exceptional free throw shooting display.

Westfield did lead for most of the first half and took its biggest lead, 22-15, on a free throw from freshman Gabby Felix (Springfield, MA), who led the Owls with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Westfield again led by seven, 31-24, on a layup by senior Janae Jones (Springfield, MA) with 16:02 remaining, but Worcester went on a 13-3 run for a 37-34 lead at the 9:53 mark. 

Westfield knotted the score at 37-37 when freshman Molly Waitt (Melrose, MA) made the Owls' only 3-point basket, then Worcester took the lead for good seconds later on two Charette free throws.

The Lancers maintained single-digit leads until the final seconds of the game. Westfield did cut the deficit to four, 50-46, on a pair of free throws from Jones, but El-Qasem converted a big layup at the 2:14 mark to make it 52-46. The Lancers drained 7-of-8 free throws in the final minutes.

Worcester freshman Cheyenne Jennings (Worcester, MA) had seven points and a game-high six assists.

Westfield freshman Jen Ashton (Beverly, MA) finished with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and six steals. Also scoring in double figures was junior Jenny Bell (Northampton, MA).

Major Portions Of Release Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information