Worcester State Uses Big Second Half Run To Defeat Trinity, 67-55

Hartford, CT --- Senior Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven, MA) totaled game-highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds to go with five assists and made eight out of nine shots from the foul line to lead Worcester State to a 67-55 road win over the Trinity (CT) in non-conference women's basketball action this evening.

With the win and the loss, both squads now sport equal records of 3-4 on the season.

The Lancers were sparked by junior Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) drilled back-to-back three pointers to start the game with a 14-3 lead five minutes into the contest. 

Trinity battled back and used a 9-0 run to close to 26-23 with four minutes left before the break after a layup by junior Paige Greene (Owings Mills, MD) and went into intermission trailing, 32-27. 

O'Keefe had 10 of her 13 points in the first half and the Lancers held a 22-14 edge on the boards at the break.

Trinity gained control of the game over the first half of the second stanza, outscoring Worcester State, 24-10, to take its biggest lead at 51-42 at the 10:09 mark after five straight points by fourth-year Kaitlin Ciarleglio (Waterbury, CT). 

Back-to-back trey's by junior Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) reversed momentum and ignited the Lancers on a 25-4 run to close the game as Worcester State scored the contest's final 17 points after trailing, 55-50, with seven minutes left on the clock. 

A steal and layup by freshman Cheyenne Jennings (Worcester, MA) gave Worcester back the lead at 65-55 with 4:07 remaining and the Lancers shot 9-for-10 from the foul line down the stretch.

Ciarleglio led Trinity with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots while sophomore Emily Dixon (Norwood, MA) added 13 points and junior Carly Napier (Pittsford, NY) notche3d 11 points and four steals. 

Worcester State sophomore Meaghan Burns (West Brookfield, MA) joined O'Keefe with 13 points and added three steals. O'Keefe grabbed nine caroms and blocked a pair of shots. Freshman Shannen El-Qasem (Rutland, MA) came off the bench to score 10 points in 19 minutes for WSU.

Both squads had solid percentages from the field as WSU was 42 percent (23-for-55) and the Bantams were 39 percent (20-for-52). The Lancers connected for 16 of thier 20 attempts from the charity stripe (80 percent) and led in total rebounds (40-30) and offensive boards (17-12).

WSU made the most of Trinity's 14 miscues as they would net a 22-8 edge in points off of turnovers.

With her points tonight, Charette is now just 75 points away from 1,000 for her career.

The Lancers will play Mount Holyoke a week from today at 7 PM on the road while Trinity travels to Nashua, NH to take on Rivier on Thursday at 7.

Major Portions of Release Courtesy of Trinity College (CT) Sports Information