Worcester State Grabs First Conference Win of the Season, Sinking Vikings 78-74

Worcester, MA-  The Lancers Women's Basketball team (1-15, 0-3) enter today's contest against Salem State with a 1-15 record, with a number of hotly contested battles under their belts. The team came into the night looking to grab their second win and their first conference win on the season. This young team combined with a couple of savvy veterans has had a hard stretch, but are primed to begin their roll in the conference. Salem State came into the match with a 7-8 record and their last match was a dominant 20 point win over MCLA. 

Final

Worcester State: 78

Salem State: 74

The match opened up with the Lancers knocking down the first couple of buckets. The team's transition moments and great ball movement in the half court opened up their offensive attack. Senior standout Katie Hurynowicz (Tyngsboro, MA) managed to get her name all across the stats sheet in the early goings of the game. Worcester would find numerous ways to generate turnovers for the Vikings, and cause chaos on the break. The end of the first quarter would see the team with a 4 point advantage.

The second quarter would be a slower pace quarter with less transition buckets for both teams that would be matched with more efficient play from both teams frontcourt players. The first year combo guard Lena Waldron (Quincy, MA) would find her way to the foul line and also grab a nice amount of boards to help Worcester carry momentum through the quarter. Waldron would not be the only first year making an impact in the second quarter as Alana Smith (Chicopee, MA) was able to connect on two timely jumpshots to stop a 8-0 run that Salem was on. With the slower quarter for Worcester, Salem was able to build their way back into the game and take a tie into the halftime break.

With the scores even, both teams were looking to have a strong 3rd quarter to solidify their control of the game. Advanced analytics show that, for the D3 level, the team that wins the 3rd quarter wins 71% of the time. The Lancers would do just that by out scoring, rebounding and assisting Salem in the quarter. This would lead to a 7 point advantage as the teams headed into the fourth. Right before the quarter break second year guard Siarra Francis (Marlborough, MA)would record a block which was unexpected as Francis, while being one of the most aggressive defenders on the court for the Lancers is also one of the shorter players on the team. This type of effort though, highlighted how efficient and dedicated the Lancers were out of the halftime break. 

The start of the final quarter contained a grueling 3 minute scoreless drought and 7 total turnovers as the Lancers saw their lead get to as small as 4 points. They would manage to clinch some timely buckets to avoid Salem claiming a lead in the game. As the final moments clicked down, and each team became more tactical with their timeouts and shots, Worcester would hold on to grab a  final score of 78-74. The Lancers would end the game with 18 made free throws on 32 attempts to wrap up the victory. Hurynowicz would lead both teams with 32 and 16 rebounds, claiming her seventh double-double of the season. Fellow senior Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, MA) would end the night with two blocks and two steals and three assists. 

Worcester State moves to (2-15, 1-3) on the season as Salem drops to (7-9, 1-3). The Vikings will host Fitchburg State while Worcester travels to Framingham State on Saturday, January 20th at noon, to continue their conference slate of games.