SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore guard Meaghan Burns (West Brookfield, MA) scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half as the Worcester State posted a 65-55 victory over Western New England in a non-conference game Thursday evening (Jan. 5) at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
The Lancers, who were playing their first game since returning from a tournament in Hawaii on December 20, are now 5-6.
The Golden Bears drop to 2-7 after making their first appearance on the court since December 10.
Senior guard Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) had a double-double for the visitors with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Junior center Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) also had 11 points with eight rebounds and three blocks.
Western New England started strong taking three 14-point leads in the opening first half, the last coming at 24-10 on a basket by freshman forward Sam McCann (Warren, MA) who was a teammate of both Burns and O'Keefe at Quabog Regional High School.
Worcester State used a 17-4 run in the final nine minutes to trail by only one (28-27) at halftime.
The Lancers took their first lead at 33-31 when Burns made a layup with 16:31 left.
Junior guard Emily Savino (Ellington, CT) made a free throw and senior forward Sarah Proper (Coxsackie, NY) hit a jumper to give the Golden Bears their last lead at 34-33 at the 15:28 mark.
Worcester State went on a 10-0 run for a nine-point advantage at 43-34 capped by a jumper by freshman guard Kelli McPherson (Mansfield, MA) with 11:26 remaining.
Western New England made a nice comeback getting within 56-55 on a layup by McCann with 2:09 left, but didn't score again.
The Lancers ended the contest with nine straight points, including a pair of three-point plays by Burns.
Savino led Western New England with 20 points while sophomore guard Ali Pessolano (Hampden, MA) added 11 points. Proper finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
Worcester State shot 47.3% from the field while Western New England managed to make only 35.6% of its field-goal attempts. Both teams had 37 rebounds.