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Courtesy MCLA Sports Information

North Adams, MA- Third seeded MCLA placed four players in double figures led by Lucy Tremblay's (East Greenbush, NY) 23 points en route to an 83-76 MASCAC quarterfinal victory over sixth seeded Fitchburg State.  With the win, the Trailblazers improve to 14-12 and advance into the conference semifinals where they will battle second seeded Salem State University Friday night at 7:30pm at Bridgewater State.  The Falcons fall to 16-9 overall.

A well played game throughout, MCLA began to stretch its lead early on in the second half.  After being knotted up at halftime, the Trailblazers led 53-49 after Fitchburg's Amy Fahey (Wilmington, MA) connected on two of her game high 26 points.  MCLA would then go on a quick 5-0 burst to push ahead by nine at 58-49 with 11:59 to play.

Fitchburg would again cut the margin to five at 66-61, but MCLA once again answered the bell, this time Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, NY) putback and a Sara Hamiton (Dalton, MA) jumper to lead 70-61 with under five minutes to play.  Fitchburg would cut into the deficit one last time getting as close as 77-73 following a Meagan Secino (Leominster, MA) triple with 2:11 left.

Trailblazer Alie Dobrovolc (Little Falls, NY) answered with a jumper on the next possesion, then following a defensive stop, Tremblay provided the dagger, drilling home a three pointer, her sixth of the night, putting MCLA on top at 82-73.  Fitchburg would never threaten from there.

In the opening period, MCLA came out sharp in the early going and led by as many as nine points at 26-17 with 11:02 left until halftime.  The Trailblazers would score only two points over the next 6:18 allowing the Falcons to get back in the contest.  Fitchburg used a 10-2 run over that span to pull within a point at 28-27.  Fitchburg would actually pull ahead by four at 36-32 following a pair of Madeline Merchant (Gardner, MA) free throws, but MCLA scored the final four points of the half to tie the game.

Tremblay was 8-20 from the floor, including a 6-12 performance from beyond the arc en route to her 23 points.  Dobrovolc filled the stat sheet as she finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals.  Wehner, who returned from an ankle injury, had a double double of 17 points and 13 caroms.  Katelyn Chenevert chipped in with 12 points and added 6 assists.

The Falcons' Fahey was tough all night long as the sophomore connected on 10-19 attempts for her 26 points.  She added 6 rebounds and 3 assists.  Secino finished with 14 points including four three pointers.  Rebecca Goreham (Quincy, MA) recorded her own double double, posting 10 points and 13 rebounds.  She also added four assists.  Jackie Boffoli (Holden, MA) had a game high 8 assists on the night.  Fitchburg registered 25 assists on 29 made field goals.

The Falcons held a slight edge off the glass 43-41, while MCLA forced 20 turnovers on the night.

Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Worcester State University had three players post double-doubles, including a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds from freshman forward Shannen El-Qasem (Rutland) as the Lancers defeated Westfield State University, 61-52, in the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women’s basketball postseason tournament.

No. 4 seed Worcester, 13-13 overall, advances to the semifinals andwill play No. 1 seed Bridgewater State on Friday at 5:30 in Bridgewater. No. 4 seed Westfield, which defeated Worcester twice during the regular season, finishes 13-13.

Trailing 25-20 at halftime, the Lancers rallied for the road victorysparked by sensational free throw shooting and double-double efforts from El-Qasem, senior guard Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven) and junior center Meghan O’Keefe (Warren). Charette finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds and O’Keefehad 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Lancers were almost perfect from the foul line, making 25 of 28 attempts, including 19-for-20 in the second half when they outscored thestruggling Owls, 41-27.

Charette was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe and sophomore guard Meaghan Burns (West Brookfield) was 8-for-8 to finish with eight points.

Both teams shot an identical 31 percent from the field but Worcester canned four 3-pointers while limiting Westfield to 1-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Westfield did turn in a solid effort from the foul line (17 for 26) but the Owls couldn’t match the Lancers exceptional free throw shooting display.

Westfield did lead for most of the first half and took its biggestlead, 22-15, on a free throw from freshman center Gabby Felix (Springfield/Commerce), who led the Owls with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Westfield again led by seven, 31-24, on a layup by senior point guardJanae Jones (Springfield/Minnechaug) with 16:02 remaining, but Worcester went on a 13-3 run for a 37-34 lead at the 9:53 mark.

Westfield knotted the score at 37-all when freshman reserve Molly Waitt (Melrose) made the Owls’ only 3-point basket, then Worcester took the lead for good seconds later on two Charette free throws.

The Lancers maintained single-digit leads until the final seconds of the game. Westfield did cut the deficit to four, 50-46, on a pair of freethrows from Jones, but El-Qasem converted a big layup at the 2:14 mark to makeit 52-46. The Lancers drained 7 of 8 free throws in the final minutes.

Worcester freshman guard Cheyenne Jennings (Worcester) had seven pointsand a game-high six assists.

Westfield standout freshman guard Jen Ashton (Beverly) finished with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and six steals despite being slowed by aninjury. Also scoring in double figures was junior guard Jenny Bell (Northampton).