Women’s Basketball Goes 1-1 at West Coast Classic

Williams Box Score | Suffolk Box Score

Santa Barbara, CA --- The Worcester State women’s basketball team dropped a close 79-70 decision to Williams before defeating Suffolk 65-61 to bring their overall season record to 4-7 at the West Coast Classic hosted by the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Against the Ephs (3-6) on December 29, the Lancers trailed by seven at the intermission and 12 in the second half before cutting the lead to three points at 73-70 down the stretch. Williams, however, iced the game from the foul line as they sunk 17 of 21 attempts from the charity stripe to help win the contest.

Williams sophomore Chessie Jackson (Goleta, CA) led all scorers with 28 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks while she also went 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Senior Mika Peterman (Los Altos, CA) and freshmen Lisa Jaris (Harrington Park, NJ) each added 14 while Kelsey Ham (Bozeman, MT) handed out seven assists.

Worcester State sophomore Alexis George (Worcester, MA) paced the Blue and Gold with 18 points while first-year Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) and sophomore Kathleen Foley (Hudson, NH) each contributed with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Junior Bri Flanders (Southampton, MA) grabbed a team-high eight caroms.

The Lancers had a season low nine turnovers in the contest while the Ephs dominated the glass as they held a 49-33 edge. Williams also shot 39% (28-for-72) from the field while Worcester State connected for 36% (25-for-70) inside the arc.

On December 30 in the victory against Suffolk (5-4), WSC was led by senior Erin McCullough (Harvard, MA), who had a great all around game with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Foley chipped in with 14 points in 15 minutes of action off the bench while George notched 10 points with five rebounds. Freshman Brittany McGinness (Billerica, MA) added five rebounds and four blocks.

Rams senior Kerry Bowman (Guilford, CT) led all scorers with 20 points as she went 9-for-12 from the field while classmate Megan Tracey (Rehoboth, MA) had a double-double with 12 points and 13 caroms. Freshman Julieanne Conrad (West Bridgewater, MA) finished with 14 points.

The Lancers defense ended the afternoon with a season-high seven blocks with 11 steals while Suffolk also had 10 swipes in the contest. Worcester State shot 44% (24-for-55) from the field while the Rams hit 33% (23-for-68) of their field goal attempts.

Worcester State will continue its season when they travel to Eastern Connecticut on Wednesday at 7 PM before opening MASCAC play with MCLA next Saturday at 3 PM.

Suffolk looks to start off their new year with a win when they face off against Lesley on Thursday at 8 PM.

Eastern Connecticut, who defeated the Rams 71-39 in the opening round of the classic, went 2-0 at the West Coast Classic after they were victorious in a 79-73 overtime battle against Williams in the second day of action.

Portions of Release and Statistics are Courtesy of Williams Sports Information