Lancers go Deep for Win over Wellesley

Worcester, MA - Wellesley College traveled to Worcester the Monday after Thanksgiving break for an out of conference match up with the Lancers. Both teams were coming off of close wins prior to the break and were looking to keep that momentum going into the Monday night showdown.

The first quarter found Wellesley wearing down the shot clock before finding shot opportunities, with a number of final second toss up by the Blues as a result of some hard pressure by the Lancers defense. Lancer  graduate student Sarah Blomgren (Lunenburg, MA) led the team with 8 points.  Blomgren went 1 for 1 for 3-pointers while senior Erin Gallella (Tewksbury, MA) also made a 3. Worcester was up by just 2 at the end of the quarter. 

Worcester State continued to push into the second quarter and were able to increase their lead. Wellesley's Arla Hofer (Las Vegas, Nevada) made all three shots she attempted on the night. Junior Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, MA) was on fire with six rebounds, keeping Wellesley at bay and unable to find solid footing to make a comeback attempt. Juniors Emma Found (Wakefield, MA) and Katie Hurynowicz (Tyngsboro, MA) both were dominant from deep, each nabbing a three. Found nailed a number of deep threes from way behind the line to force the Wellesley defense to contest the ball all around the court. 

After the half Worcester proved they owned the court, putting 13 additional points on the scoreboard throughout the quarter. Elle Petra (Guilford, CT) and Shannon Li (Los Altos, CA) both sank shots for Wellesley, keeping Worcester within the Blues' sights and never letting the Lancers run away with the game. Although Wellesley gained 12 points and had more shot opportunities than previous quarters, it was not enough to grab the lead.

The fourth quarter began with a layup by Hurynowicz, followed by another soaring 3-pointer by Found shortly after. The ball was connecting beautifully between the hands of the Lancers for several passes into the paint for shots, even as Wellesley amped up the pressure and forced Worcester into a more rushed style of play. The game came to a close with the final moments ticking down and the lancers able to grab a late basket off of Wellesley fouls to finish the game at 70-58. 

The Lancers will continue their season against MIT at home at 7 pm on December 1 and look to go 2-0 on the week.