Worcester State Pushes Past Wellesley Basketball, 70-58

WORCESTER, Mass. - Worcester State won a tightly contested 70-58 non-conference game over Wellesley College basketball on Monday.

Graduate student Sarah Blomgren (Lunenburg, Mass.) was the big scorer for the Lancers (4-3) with 23 points, and junior Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, Mass.) grabbed 11 rebounds for WSU. First year Arla Hofer (Las Vegas, Nev.) led the Blue (4-4) with 10 points while classmate Madison Wieboldt (Chapel Hill, N.C.) had a trio of steals for Wellesley and sophomore Sairah O'Brien-Forde (Binghamton, N.Y.) passed for five assists. 

Wellesley scored first with a layup from O'Brien-Forde. The Lancers scored seven of the next eight points, capped off by an and-one from junior guard Emma Found (Wakefield, Mass.). WSU led 19-17 at the end of the first, with Blomgren scoring eight for the Lancers.

Worcester State outscored Wellesley 18-11 in the second. The Lancers benefited from seven points, including four made free throws, scored by junior Katie Hurynowicz (Tyngsboro, Mass.). Multiple layups from junior Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, Mass.) also helped WSU lead 37-29 going into the half. Junior Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) paced the Blue with eight first half points.

The Blue cut the lead back to four at 40-36 on a layup from first year Shannon Li (Los Altos, Calif.). The Lancers brought their lead back up the eight a few minutes later with a bucket from Found assisted by Blomgren. A late layup from Blomgren gave the Lancers a 50-41 lead going into the fourth.

Junior Anna Greenthal (Orinda, Calif.) hit a jumper to cut the lead to seven before Found hit a three for WSU to bring the lead back to 55-45. Classmate Elle Petra (Guilford, Conn.) made a pair of layups for Wellesley but Worcester State brought their lead to 13 at 62-49. The Lancers never let their lead slip as they finished off a 70-58 game. 

The Blue stay on the road Wednesday with a 7:00 PM game at Elms. The Lancers host MIT on Thursday at 7:00 PM.