Worcester State Drops Worcester City Tournament Championship Game to WPI

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Engineers of WPI captured their third consecutive and seventh overall Worcester City Tournament Championship as they defeated Worcester State 50-36 Saturday (Nov. 19) evening inside the Lancer Gymnasium. Earlier in the evening, Clark University defeated Becker 79-41 in the consolation game.

Clark University 79, Becker College 41

The Clark Cougars women's basketball team won the Worcester City Tournament consolation game 79-41 as Clark's junior guard Sam O'Gara (Worcester, Mass.) led the Cougars with 20 points, seven assists, and five steals.

Clark's Sophomore Kacey Legare (Chicopee, Mass.) notched 16 points on the night, netting four of six three-point attempts in only 11 minutes of play. Adding to the Cougars' offensive effort was Sami Dokus (Littleton, Mass.) and Gwyneth Ivory (Ashland, Mass.) scoring seven and eight points, respectively. Guiding the Cougars defense was Aretha Sullivan (Worcester, Mass) and Maya Kerstetter (Northampton, Mass.) each with six rebounds.

Leading the Hawks was freshman guard Cassidy Harrison (Foxborough, Mass.) shooting 5-for-9 from the field, scoring 16 points and registering three steals. Kelsey Maynard (Millville, Mass.) scored eight points for Becker while teammate Avrie Bassingthwaite (Swanzey, N.H.) scored six points and recorded two rebounds. Ciara McKissick (Charlton, Mass.) registered six boards, three assists, and two steals while Adrianna Dowdy (East Haven, Conn.) registered six boards as well.

Clark held the advantage in field goal percentage at 39.1 percent, while the Hawks claimed the advantage in shots from beyond the arc at 35.7 percent. The Cougars outrebounded Becker 44-32 and caused 30 Hawk turnovers leading to 31 Cougar points.

Next up, Clark hosts Anna Maria on Tuesday (Nov. 22) in a 4:00 p.m. matchup. Becker travels to MCLA on the same date for a 6:00 p.m. tipoff.  

WPI 50, Worcester State 36

WPI's most outstanding tournament player, Ama Biney (Worcester, Mass.) recorded a game-high 18 points, a game-best seven steals and collected two assists and two blocks in the Engineers' 50-36 championship victory over Worcester State.

WPI's Priscilla Dunphy (Barrington, R.I.) came in with nine points, while Stasha Greenalch (Newington, Conn.) and Maura Buckely (Melrose, Mass.) scored seven apiece. Leading the Engineers on the board was Madison Beck (Syracuse, N.Y.) with seven.

Worcester State's Brianna Hackett (Hollis, N.H.) scored a team-high 14 points as she went 4-for-7 from three point range. Worcester's Britt Herring (W. Brookfield, Mass.) netted four baskets for eight points and led the team in rebounds with six. Herring marked two blocks while senior center Bianca Langford (Worcester, Mass.) grabbed a game-high three blocks in the contest.

WPI jumped off to a quick start when they scored six unanswered points before Hackett put the Lancers up on the board three and half minutes into the game. The Lancers came within two points seconds later on a free throw from Catherine Sweeney (Lowell, Mass.) to bring the game within two, however, WPI ended the first period ahead 12-6.

The Engineers added to their lead in the second period when they outscored the Lancers 12-7 to go into the half ahead 24-13.

The Lancers made the game interesting in the second half as they chipped away at the Engineers' lead a few times. WPI held a slight 15-11 scoring advantage in the third period, however, Worcester State led the scoring in the fourth period 12-11.  

The Lancers shot 36.1 from the field, while WPI stood at 34 percent. However, Worcester State struggled from the free throw line as they went 5-for-14 (35.7%) and the Engineers converted 14-16 extra points on free throw attempts.

Worcester State resumes play on Tuesday (Nov. 22) when they host Western New England in their fourth consecutive road game. The Engineers also host that day as Nichols travels to Worcester for a 2:00 p.m. matchup.

Most Outstanding Player

Ama Biney (WPI)

All- Tournament Team

Sam O'Gara (Clark)

Cassidy Harrison (Becker)

Tess Nogueira (WPI)

Britt Herring (Worcester State)

Brianna Hackett (Worcester State)