Strong Second Half Helps #13 Bowdoin Emerge Over Lancers

BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Worcester State women's basketball team played #13 Bowdoin College to a one-point difference through the first half, but the Polar Bears pulled away for a 67-45 win in the opening game of the Bowdoin Invitational on Friday evening at Morrell Gymnasium.

Gigi LeMay (Grafton, Mass.) had 16 points, 16 rebounds, five steals and two blocks for her second double-double of the season, but Worcester State was just 1-12 as a team from three-point range and 2-8 from the foul line.

The teams traded leads early and often through the first half, with a short-lived 4-point Worcester State advantage on a Calli Korbey (Hopkinton, Mass.) jump shot the biggest edge for either side through twenty minutes.

Bowdoin, leading 23-22 at the break, opened the second half on a 15-2 run and by the time LeMay hit a jump shot with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter, it was 37-26 in favor of the home team.

Madison Gutierrez (Holyoke, Mass.) scored five quick points to get the Lancers back to within seven, but Bowdoin scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, capped by a three-pointer by Annie Boasberg (Washington, D.C.), to push their edge back to 15.

The Polar Bears went 4-5 from three-point range in the fourth quarter and shot 67% from the floor as they outscored the Lancers 25-12 in the final period to push their lead above 20.

Elizabeth Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) was the only other Lancers in double-figures, with 10 points to go with 6 rebounds and three assists. Sarah Blomgren (Lunenburg, Mass.) had six points, five rebounds and a block, and Erin Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored four points, grabbed five rebounds and had three assists and a steal.

The Polar Bears got 15 points from Megan Tan (Belmont, Mass.), and 11 from Sela Kay (Los Angeles, Calif.) and nine from Sydney Jones (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) off the bench. Callie Godfrey (Cheshire, Conn.) had a team-high eight rebounds, along with three assists, one of four Bowdoin starters to dish out three dimes.

Worcester State (2-3) will play either Smith or Mitchell tomorrow at 2:00 PM in the consolation game of the tournament, while Bowdoin (4-0) will await the other in the championship game at 4:00.