Lancers Fall in Come Back Bid to Oglethorpe

Worcester, MA- The Lancers returned to action in Georgia as the Worcester State Women's Basketball team wrapped up their holiday trip with a match versus the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels. The Women's Basketball team was coming off a tough loss yesterday versus Piedmont and was looking for their first win of their trip.

Final:

Worcester State: 58

Oglethorpe: 65

The second game of the stretch saw Worcester State jump out to an early lead in the action as the Lancers looked to begin the game in a fast fashion. The Lancers jumped out early behind the combined efforts of senior Katie Hurynowicz (Tyngsboro, MA) and first year Lena Waldron (Quincy, MA). Oglethorpe's cold shooting would come to an end though and their hard pressure defense would put them back into the game late in the first quarter jumping out to a 7 point lead as the Lancers worked to establish their shooting success. 

The second quarter had the Stormy Petrels attempting to push their lead further, but the Lancers defense refused to let Ogelthorpe pull away and fought their way back into the game. Ogelthorpe would stretch their lead to 15 but Worcester State diligently worked the gap down to a five point game at the close of the second quarter off the combined attack of Hurynowicz, first year Hannah Manzaro (West Brookfield, MA), junior Abby St. Martin (Putnam, CT), senior Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, MA) and first year Mia Haynes (Worcester, MA). The Lancers would take a 37-28 score into halftime as they slowly chipped away at the early lead of the Stormy Petrels.

The Third quarter would see a continuation of action from the Lancers as they diligently worked their way up and down the court in a bid to come away with the New Years Eve victory in Atlanta. The Lancers went back and forth with Ogelthorpe as they attempted to grab the lead back and put the pressure on. As the Lancers chipped away at the lead, a combo of starters and bench melded together to develop offensive momentum for Worcester. At the close of the third, the Lancers had brought the game back to single digits with the score currently sitting at 51-45.

The final quarter of action was set for Worcester State to attempt their fourth quarter comeback bid as the team put their focus into their defensive and offensive attack plans. The Lancers would bring the game to within three off a first year Lena Waldron (Quincy, MA) tip in, but a following three pointer for Oglethorpe would again put the Lancers on the defensive end of the comeback. While Worcester would work to break into the lead, Oglethorpe capitalized on the opportunities in the fourth, stretching the lead to 13 as the clock ticked down. Worcester would not give in easily and would work the boards looking for baskets as the clock ticked down. A late quarter run by the Lancers off a St. Martin three and Waldron layup would see the teams come within six with just two minutes of action remaining in regulation. With just a minute to go, following a Hurynowicz layup, the game was down to four and Worcester was looking to use game strategy to pull off the final minute win. In the end the strategic comeback would fall just short as Ogelthorpe would manage to hold off the Lancers for the 65-58 victory.

Hurynowicz would notch the double-double for the Lancers with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the afternoon along with a team leading four assists. 

The Lancers (1-11, 0-0) are back in action on January 6th as they open conference play versus Fitchburg State at 12pm.