Balanced Attack Leads Women's Basketball Past UMass Dartmouth

Worcester, MA --- Senior Meaghan Burns (W. Brookfield, MA) notched a team-best 20 points and seven rebounds while junior Shannen El-Qasem (Rutland, MA/Wachusett) added 16 points and eight boards as they both helped lead Worcester State to a 75-70 victory over UMass Dartmouth in non-conference women's basketball action at Clark's Kneller Athletic Center.       

The Lancers (2-1) were also paced by sophomore Julie Frankian (Millbury, MA) finished with 13 points and seven caroms while classmate Cheyenne Jennings (Worcester, MA/Wachusett) was solid with 13 points and six assists.

El-Qasem hit half of her shots from the field (7-for-14) as Burns missed just once from the line (8-for-9). Senior Emily Barrett (Dracut, MA) also had a trio of blocks off the bench for the Blue and Gold.

Senior Erika Bornemann (Canton, MA) had a monster game for the Corsairs (1-2) with a game-high's of 24 points and 17 rebounds.

Freshman Megan Ronaghan (N. Attleboro, MA) connected on eight of her 13 shots to finish with 18 points as sophomore Colleen Kane (Arlington, MA) had a great all-around game with nine points, six boards and five helpers.

WSU now leads the all-time series 27-11 snapping a three-year skid at the hands of the Corsairs.

With the Lancers clinging to the 24-22 margin midway through the opening stanza, the hosts used a 9-3 spurt to open up a 33-25 advantage with 6:30 on the clock for their largest lead of the first half with field goals by senior Michel'le St. Pierre (Seekonk, MA), Barrett and a trifecta by Jennings.

But Bornermann came through for the Corsairs by leading the charge with 13 points in a 16-5 run to close out the frame for UMass Dartmouth. She sank five of her eight bids from the field – including a trey at the top of the arc with 46 seconds remaining to help the visitors take the 41-38 edge at the break.

After four ties and a trio of lead changes in a back-and-forth second period, Ronaghan canned a pair of free throws to equalize the contest for the fifth time at the 6:35 mark (56-56).

UMD peaked at 64-58 on the back of a freshman Ashley Brown (Fairhaven, MA) three-pointer before the Lancers responded by utilizing a 9-3 run to go up 67-66 with 2:36 remaining in regulation.

The Blue and Gold scored on buckets in the paint by Burns and El-Qasem followed by junior Kiesha Jones (Worcester, MA/Doherty) who jacked a key three pointer to finish off the rally.

Bornerman did sink two free throws with 2:23 on the clock for the 68-67 edge for the visitors. However, the Lancers got the job done at the line going perfect at the charity stripe to seal up the victory in a 6-2 surge to close out the contest for the final score.

UMD also turned the ball over three times in the final two minutes of regulation.

It was a tale of two halves for both clubs on the evening from the floor.

Worcester State hit 44 percent of their shots from the field (15-for-34) in the opening frame before they nailed just 10 of their 33 bids in the final stanza (30 percent). UMD nearly connected on half of their attempts in the first period (47 percent), however, they shot 31 percent in the second half (10-for-32).

WSU hit 13 of their 14 tries from the charity stripe while also leading in points in the paint (28-20), second chance points (14-13) and total rebounds (46-41).

The Corsairs made five of their 12 bids from downtown (42 percent) and held the 16-14 margin in points off of turnovers.

In upcoming action, both teams take on non-conference opponents on Saturday at 1 PM. Worcester State heads to New York City for the weekend to take on Brooklyn (NY) while UMD plays host to Salem State.

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