Women's Basketball Slides Past Western New England

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University women's basketball team took care of Western New England University 66-54 in non-conference action at John P. Brissette Court on Tuesday evening.

With the win, the Lancers grab consecutive wins for the first time this season, improving to 4-2. The Golden Bears drop to 3-2 overall with the defeat.

The teams went back and forth in the contest's opening quarter, as neither team was able to grab a clear advantage. The Lancers jumped out to an early 6-0 advantage after the second bucket of the game from senior Kaitlyn Berkel (Waterford, Conn.) just over two and a half minutes in, but the Golden Bears would answer quickly. A layin by junior Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.) would put the guests on top for the first time in the contest at 9-8, and the lead would change four more times in the quarter before the buzzer sounded with Worcester State ahead 14-13.

The second quarter was all Worcester State, as the Lancers outscored the Golden Bears 22-8 in the period to head into the break with a 36-21 lead. Senior Kate Surprenant (Pelham, N.H.) led the way with nine points for the Lancers in the quarter, as the hosts shot 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) from the floor to take a 15-point lead into the locker room.

The third quarter saw the Golden Bears claw back into the contest, as the Lancers were only able to manage one basket and four points in the quarter. Seven different players had one basket each for Western New England, including junior Sydney Fisher (Strafford, N.H.), who netted the only three of the period for the Golden Bears. After three quarters, the Lancers held a slim 40-38 edge.

Senior Brittany Herring (West Brookfield, Mass.) had the first three buckets of the fourth for Worcester State, setting up a dagger of a 3-pointer from junior Sam Ellis (Grafton, Mass.) to put the Lancers ahead 49-40 with 6:48 left. Herring would score 12 points in the fourth quarter alone to help the Lancers close out the victory.

Herring finished as the game's leading scorer with 16 points on the night to go along with seven boards. Berkel had the contest's lone double-double with 12 points and 11 boards, while Surprenant hit double figures with 12 points. Rookie Calli Korbey (Hopkinton, Mass.) was solid from the point position, recording three points with six rebounds and six assists.

For Western New England, Farrell led the way with 15 points on the evening. Junior Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) had 11 points for the Golden Bears, while sophomore Emily Scurka (Billerica, Mass.) chipped in nine points and five rebounds.

Next up for the Lancers, they will be on the road on Sunday to take on Wellesley College at 1 p.m. Western New England will be off for a week before opening CCC play against Roger Williams University at home next Wednesday.

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