Grant Scores 23, Owls Soar Past Worcester 99-76

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) scored 23 points as the Westfield State Owls took down the Worcester State Lancers 99-76 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

Grant's 23 points in today's contest puts her at 995 career points, just five points away from 1,000 points in her career. Grant finished the game with a full stat sheet, recording five rebounds and four steals.

With the win, the Owls improve to 13-9 overall and 6-3 in MASCAC. The Lancers fall to 4-17 on the season and 3-6 in the conference.  

It was a strong defensive game for the Owls as they recorded 32 steals and forced the Lancers into 44 turnovers. Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) fronted the defensive attack for the Owls with seven steals. Hadla finished the game with 22 points and four assists.

The Owls scored first and never trailed for the entirety of the game. The first five minutes of play were close, with the Lancers remaining within striking distance of the Owls. With 5:48 to play, a free throw from Katie Hurynowicz (Tyngsboro, Mass.) brought the Lancers to within one point at 11-10.

Hurynowicz finished as the game's leading scorer with 24 points and recorded a team high six assists to go along with five rebounds.

Westfield responded by scoring eight unanswered points beginning with a layup from Lindsey Bohenko (Lowell, Mass.), then a jumper from Octaviana Williams (Springfield, Mass.) pushed the Owls to a 19-10 lead with 3:56 left in the quarter. From that point forward, the Owls continued to build the lead as a layup from Jess Gardner (Webster, Mass.) closed the first quarter with Westfield leading, 29-16.

The Owls kept pushing the pace of the game, opening the game up to a twenty-point lead with a layup from Gardner making it a 38-18 contest with 6:48 to play in the second quarter.

Strong defense from the Owls kept their lead building as 13 of their 22 second quarter points came off of turnovers. The Owls closed the half up 51-29.

The Lancers opened the third outscoring the Owls in the first four minutes as six straight points from the Lancers' Hurynowicz and four points from Lena Waldron (Quincy, Mass.) cut the Owls lead to 17 points, 62-45.

The Owls called a timeout and then went on their own run, outscoring the Lancers 14-7, which gave them a 26-point lead, 78-52 at the end of the third.

Both lines for the Owls were generating buckets as the Owls' bench scored 35 points. Gardner led the second-unit in scoring with 12 points on 80% shooting (4-5) and recorded a team high nine rebounds. Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass.) tallied a team high five assists. 

For the Lancers, Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, Mass.) grabbed 11 rebounds. The Lancers had three other players score double figures as Waldron scored 12 points, Cameron Watkins (Dracut, Mass.) with 17, and Alana Smith (Chicopee, Mass.) with 11.

Westfield State will travel to Fitchburg State for their next game in a MASCAC contest on the road on Wednesday at 5:00 P.M. Worcester State will travel to Bridgewater State on Wednesday at 5:30 P.M.

Written by Jordan Aguiar – WSU Sports Information Intern