Tesmer Coaches 350th Career Win as Lancers Rout Falcons

FITCHBURG, Mass. –Worcester State women's basketball head coach Karen Tessmer collected her 350^th career victory on Saturday afternoon, leading the Lancers to a 83-47 victory over Fitchburg State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play.

Tesmer has been with the program since 1994, and is now in her 28^th year on the Worcester State bench.

The Lancers (10-11, 5-4 MASCAC) have now won double-digit games for the fifth straight season after outscoring the Falcons by a combined 35 points in the first and third quarters.

Gigi LeMay (Grafton, Mass.) scored a game-high 22 points, shooting 11-15 from the floor for the Lancers, who shot 44.2% while holding the Falcons to 30.8%. Worcester also had massive advantages in points off turnovers (42-14), rebounds (47-38), and points in the paint (52-22).

Erin Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) added 13 points, three steals and four assists, and Katie Hurynowicz (Tyngsboro, Mass.) scored 11 points to lead the players off the Worcester State bench.

Holding a 9-8 lead, Worcester State finished the final 6:15 of the opening quarter on a 15-2 run that included four steals, three of which led to points. Hurynowicz had five points, two rebounds and a steal during that spurt, and LeMay had two thefts and a jumper.

Fitchburg, who was led by 14 points from Jadelen Harold, trimmed the deficit by a point in the second quarter, but the Lancers exploded for 31 points in the third quarter, their highest scoring quarter of the season.

LeMay had 10 points on 5-6 shooting in the third quarter alone, where the Lancers were 12-24 from the field and had five steals to just one turnover. Erin Gallella scored 7 points in the quarter on 3-5 from the floor.

Elizabeth Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) finished the game with five assists and five steals, both game-highs, to go along with nine points. Julia Hamel (Hubbardston, Mass.) scored six points and had two blocks and eight rebounds off the pine.

Worcester continues their three-game road trip on Monday evening with a Valentine's Day trip to Bridgewater State for a 5:30 PM tip-off.