Women's Basketball Comes Back To Defeat Fitchburg State 67-61 in Overtime

Worcester State 67, Fitchburg State 61

Box Score

Worcester, MA --- Senior Reilly O’Keefe (Warren, MA) registered game highs of 17 points and five assists to help lead Worcester State to a 67-61 overtime triumph this evening over Fitchburg State in women’s basketball MASCAC this evening at the Lancer Gymnasium.

With the win, the Lancers improve their record to 13-9 and 7-3 in the conference while the Falcons slip to 9-13 and 3-6 in the MASCAC. WSC is now almost even with Salem State in the standings in third place as they each have seven wins, but the Vikings have one less loss.

With Worcester State trailing 47-34 with 5½ minutes left in regulation, the Lancers outscored the opposition 21-8 to draw the game even at 55-55 to force overtime. WSC was sparked by junior Kathleen Foley (Hudson, NH) who jacked three treys in the run – including the game-tying three pointer with 6.3 seconds – and they also went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch.

Fitchburg State was up 52-41 at the 3:38 mark, but three turnovers, three missed field goals and a trio fouls at the wrong times allowed the Lancers to get back in the game and erase the deficit. With WSC down 55-50 with 16 ticks left, O’Keefe scored a lay-up and then the ensuing inbounds pass was stolen to set the stage for Foley who knocked down a shot that was beyond the men’s three point line.

In the extra session, junior Alexis George (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) opened the period with a lay up for the Lancers. Fitchburg State would then commit three consecutive personal fouls to put WSC on top 59-55 with 3:09 remaining as they went for 4-for-6 from the free throw line.

Over the next two minutes, the Fitchburg State would use three possessions to score six points off of field goals, but Worcester State answered every time as O’Keefe knocked down a pair of free throws and a jumper.

With FSC trailing 63-61, senior Bri Flanders (Southampton, MA) put WSC up by four with 49 ticks left as she recorded a lay up on a second chance opportunity.

The next 30 seconds would prove to be thrilling as O’Keefe blocked a pair of Falcon lay-up opportunities and later drain the clinching free throws to ice the game. Fitchburg State could have sliced the deficit to two points in the waning seconds, but they missed their last two attempts from the field.

Worcester State led in the opening frame by as many as 11 (20-9) before the FSC went on an 11-2 surge to close the gap to just two points at the intermission (22-20).

There were three ties in the first five minutes of the second stanza until Fitchburg State took the lead on a field goal by junior Kelly Rogers (Lowell, MA). The Falcons used a 19-7 run to post their largest lead of the game at 47-34.

Foley notched 12 points off the bench off of four three pointers while Flanders recorded 10 points and six boards. Charette had a great all-around game with seven points, five rebounds and six steals while George added 11 points. Sophomore Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) grabbed a team-high nine caroms while she handed out four assists.

Fitchburg State sophomore Rebecca Goreham (Quincy, MA) tallied her seventh double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds while junior Melissa Proffitt (Hubbardstown, MA) chipped in with 13 points. Rogers finished with 12 points and nine rebounds as third-year Molly Maloney (Taunton, MA) scored 11 points.

The Lancers dished out 14 assists for 20 field goal attempts while they also held advantages in points off turnovers (19-12) and second chance points (17-11). The Falcons had a 44-40 rebounding edge, but WSC held the lead off the offensive glass (17-15).

Fitchburg State shot 22 percent from the field in the first half (6-for-27), but improved with a 55 percent performance in the second period (12-for-22). Both teams shot poorly from the free throw line, but scored a third of their point totals from the charity stripe as WSC went 21-for-31 (68%) and FSC connected for 18-for-28 (64%).

Both teams continue MASCAC play on Saturday afternoon. Worcester State looks for a chance to improve its conference standings when they travel to first place Bridgewater State for a 4 PM match up. Fitchburg State entertains Salem State at 1 PM