Women's Basketball Bests Salem State, Moves To MASCAC Semifinals

Worcester, MA --- Junior Bianca Langford (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) tallied 18 points with 13 rebounds and two blocks to help lift third-seeded Worcester State to a 78-63 victory over #6 Salem State in MASCAC women's basketball quarterfinal action this evening at the Kneller Center.

The Lancers (17-9) advance to their 20th semifinals in the 25 year history of the league playoffs and will play second-seeded Bridgewater State on Thursday in a 5:30 tip-off. Salem State, making their fourth consecutive MASCAC Tournament appearance, ends their season at 5-20.

Senior Kelli McPherson (Mansfield, MA) drained 15 points on five trifectas in 17 minutes off the bench as classmate Julie Frankian (Millbury, MA) netted 12 points with six assists and five boards.

Senior Shannen El-Qasem (Rutland, MA) chipped in with 14 points while freshman Nani Perez (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) added eight points and seven helpers.

Langford notched her 15th double-double of the season in 26 contests on a 7-for-13 night from the floor.  

Salem State senior Rachel Carter (Merrimack, NH) poured in a contest-best 27 point to with five rebounds and five swipes as sophomore Malissa Saad (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) scored nine points and she corralled six boards.

Worcester State opened the match with a 13-5 advantage, but that was quickly erased by an 11-1 run by the Vikings, who were sparked by a triple by junior Rachel Ledbetter (Dracut, MA) and consecutive field goals by freshman Savanah Spinney (Everett, MA).  

After WSU brought the lead back up to 19-14, Carter reeled off the next eight points to key to help the visitors take over the 22-19 edge at the 7:03 mark in the opening stanza.

Following the third tie over a span of four minutes at 26-26, McPherson came through for the hosts in the clutch with consecutive three-pointers to help spark an 11-4 spurt to close out the frame with the 37-20 advantage.

After Spinney helped Salem State maintain the early seven point deficit (39-32), the hosts rattled off seven consecutive points, with four by Langford, to open up a 48-34 bulge with 14:46 remaining in regulation.

The Vikings responded by narrowing the gap to 50-43 following a trey at the midway point in the second period by sophomore Maggie Reilly (Worcester, MA/St. Peter-Marian), however, that was as close as the visitors got the rest of the way.

Worcester State maintained their distance with the largest advantage being the final score.

For the game, the Lancers connected on nearly half of their shots (30-for-61 – 49 percent) while nailing 10 triples as a team. WSU also led in dominated the backboards (43-28) and offensive caroms (16-7) as the hosts led in points in the paint (34-22) and second-chance baskets (14-5).

Salem State matched the effort from the field, finishing with a 42 percent effort (22-for-53) and a 44 percent clip on their long distance attempts (7-for-16). The Vikings used 14 steals for force 22 miscues.