Lancers Hold Off Late Surge from Pilgrims to Claim Victory

Worcester, MA- After a hard fought week last week, the Lancers Women's Basketball (1-3, 0-0) are back in action and on the road tonight as they journey north to New England College to take on the Pilgrims in their final road game of their opening five game start.

Final

Worcester State: 67

NEC: 66

How it Happened:

Tonight's game started out strong and competitive asWorcester State was able to snag the first points thanks to a three pointer by junior guard Aydan Gulliver (Cranston, RI). After an instant answer by the Pilgrims, the Lancers went on to run away with a little lead. Gulliver was able to hit another three pointer early on to put her team ahead while junior center Alana Smith (Chicopee, MA) was a force to be reckoned with in this first quarter and held it down for the Lancers in the paint both offensively as well as defensively. As the quarter went on, NEC was able to gain on the Lancers lead and, for a while, maintain a lead of their own. However towards the end of the quarter, Lancer offense got back into their groove and managed to outscore the Pilgrims and go into the second quarter up seven points, with the score of the first quarter being 22-15. Junior Lena Waldron (Quincy, MA) played a vital part in this last run with six points in the quarter. 

The Lancers kept that same energy from the first right into the second. Waldron was again a force on the court, instantly getting a steal and getting to the basket, putting the team on the right track. First year Lena Malymina (Franklin, MA) made an important impact as well, not only scoring but assisting her teammates at crucial moments. The Lancer team really started to click in the quarter, outplaying the Pilgrims and expanding their lead. With only a few minutes left, the Pilgrims offense managed to step up their game and put a few points past the Lancer defense and gained on the Worcester lead. After a strategy timeout call, the Lancers regained their momentum and offensive efforts by Gulliver and Waldron got the team back up on the board before going into halftime 40-23. 

The second half started with the same energy as the first ended. The Lancers remained in control of the game and players such as junior Smith and Waldron dominated. However, as time went on during the third quarter, the Pilgrims seemed to gain more confidence and energy, putting some sustained pressure on the Lancers. Worcester kept their composure however and managed to handle the slow gain of NEC but late Pilgrim defensive and offensive plays made it hard for the Lancers to hang onto their 21 point lead and NEC were able to cut it down to 14 points before the end of the quarter. 

This last quarter had high stakes on it as the Pilgrims began to, basket by basket, close the gap. Intense play made it possible for the Pilgrims offense to keep scoring and cut into the Lancer lead. Worcester's defense remained alive, not backing down and trying their best to keep the Pilgrims scoring run to a minimum. With only two minutes to go, the score had been knocked down to just a three point lead as the intensity of the final minutes were heightened and became more intense with every passing minute. With under a minute the Pilgrims had cut the lead to a single point as the shooting battle would be the decider. A late layup off a tactical timeout would provide the Pilgrims a late lead, but the Lancers would return the favor and hit a layup of their own to reclaim the lead and the 67-66 victory.

Waldron would lead the Lancers with 14 points while Gulliver would claim the boards title with seven rebounds.

What's Next:

Worcester State (2-3, 0-0) hosts their home opener on Thursday night when they welcome Dean College to Brissette Court for a 7pm start.