Worcester, MA --- Westfield State freshman Keri Doldoorian (Whitinsville, MA/Sutton) paced a balanced scoring attack with 12 points and six rebounds as she helped lead the Owls to a 56-41 victory over Worcester State in MASCAC women's basketball action at the Lancer Gymnasium.

Sophomore Gabby Felix (Springfield, MA/Commerce) also helped propel the Owls with 10 points as senior Briana Kelly (Hampden, MA) chipped in with eight points and five boards.

Second-year Jen Ashton (Beverly, MA) had solid all-around contributions with six points, four caroms, three helpers and a game-best five swipes.

Junior Meaghan Burns (W. Brookfield, MA) finished with a contest-high 15 points to go with five rebounds while senior Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) added 12 points, three dishes and a trio of steals.

Fourth-year Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) grabbed seven boards and finished with six points in the setback for the hosts.

Westfield State (13-7, 5-2 MASCAC)  took over the commanding 22-5 lead with 6:49 left in the opening stanza before the Lancers closed the frame with a 9-1 run to trail 23-14 at the intermission on the back of a trey by Rogers.

In the second half, Worcester State (10-11, 6-2 MASCAC) clawed their way back into the contest as they used a traditional three-point play by Burns at the 15:21 mark (25-21) and again on a pair of buckets at the line by Burns with 12:14 remaining (29-25).

With the Owls maintaining the slim 34-29 lead with 8:54 on the clock, the visitors took advantage of a pair of miscues and a cold shooting stretch by the Lancers to open up a 46-32 margin with 5:04 left.

Westfield State used a 5-for-7 effort at the charity stripe and were keyed by consecutive triples by Kelly and Doldoorian in their 14-3 surge.  

The Owls continued to build on their lead and maintained double-digits for the rest of the contest as they move into a second-place tie with the Lancers in the latest MASCAC standings with the win.

Westfield State finished shooting a 35 percent clip for the contest (19-for-54) and controlled the backboards (45-37) and the offensive glass (19-17). The Owls bench also dominated the paint (28-10) and the bench outscored their counterparts (27-5).

The Lancers did not shoot well from the field (22 percent – 11-for-50) and only drained three of their 15 bids from downtown. The hosts canned just 64 percent of their attempts from the free throw line (16-for-25).

Worcester State did finish with a 15-14 edge in points off of turnovers and forced the visitors to cough up 24 miscues.

Both squads will continue MASCAC play on Saturday afternoon. Worcester State travels to MCLA for a 3:30 contest while the Owls entertain Bridgewater State at 1 PM.