WESTFIELD, Mass. – Worcester State University had three players post double-doubles, including a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds from freshman forward Shannen El-Qasem (Rutland) as the Lancers defeated Westfield State University, 61-52, in the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's basketball postseason tournament.
 
No. 4 seed Worcester, 13-13 overall, advances to the semifinals and will play No. 1 seed Bridgewater State on Friday at 5:30 in Bridgewater. No. 4 seed Westfield, which defeated Worcester twice during the regular season, finishes 13-13.
 
Trailing 25-20 at halftime, the Lancers rallied for the road victory sparked by sensational free throw shooting and double-double efforts from El-Qasem, senior guard Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven) and junior center Meghan O'Keefe (Warren). Charette finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds and O'Keefe had 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
The Lancers were almost perfect from the foul line, making 25 of 28 attempts, including 19-for-20 in the second half when they outscored the struggling Owls, 41-27.
 
Charette was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe and sophomore guard Meaghan Burns (West Brookfield) was 8-for-8 to finish with eight points.
 
Both teams shot an identical 31 percent from the field but Worcester canned four 3-pointers while limiting Westfield to 1-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Westfield did turn in a solid effort from the foul line (17 for 26) but the Owls couldn't match the Lancers exceptional free throw shooting display.
 
Westfield did lead for most of the first half and took its biggest lead, 22-15, on a free throw from freshman center Gabby Felix (Springfield/Commerce), who led the Owls with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Westfield again led by seven, 31-24, on a layup by senior point guard Janae Jones (Springfield/Minnechaug) with 16:02 remaining, but Worcester went on a 13-3 run for a 37-34 lead at the 9:53 mark.
 
Westfield knotted the score at 37-all when freshman reserve Molly Waitt (Melrose) made the Owls' only 3-point basket, then Worcester took the lead for good seconds later on two Charette free throws.
 
The Lancers maintained single-digit leads until the final seconds of the game. Westfield did cut the deficit to four, 50-46, on a pair of free throws from Jones, but El-Qasem converted a big layup at the 2:14 mark to make it 52-46. The Lancers drained 7 of 8 free throws in the final minutes.
 
Worcester freshman guard Cheyenne Jennings (Worcester) had seven points and a game-high six assists.
 
Westfield standout freshman guard Jen Ashton (Beverly) finished with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and six steals despite being slowed by an injury. Also scoring in double figures was junior guard Jenny Bell (Northampton).