From left to right, Westfield’s Jen Ashton, Tania Ortiz and Briana Kelly go after a loose ball with 16 seconds remaining in the game. Ashton stripped the ball from Shannen El-Quasem to record her ninth steal. (Photo by Mickey Curtis)
WESTFIELD –Julie Frankian made a free throw with 3/10th of a second remaining and Meaghan O’Keefe had game highs of 21 points and 19 rebound to lead Worcester State University to a 49-48 victory over Westfield State University on Tuesday, Jan. 8.
Frankian, a starting sophomore guard from Millbury, was the hero despite finishing with only five points as she came up with a big steal in the closing seconds prior to her game-winning free throw.
Worcester is 2-0 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference and 6-8 overall. Westfield is 1-1 and 9-6.
Setting up the frantic final seconds, Westfield sophomore guard Jen Ashton recorded her ninth steal of the game underneath the Worcester bucket and the Owls called a time out with 10 ticks remaining to set up a final shot.
Ashton brought the ball upcourt and tried to drive between two defenders at the top of the key but she had the ball stripped by Frankian with approximately four seconds remaining.
Frankian dribbled nearly the length of the court uncontested and missed a layup at the buzzer, but a fouled was called on Ashton and 3/10th of a second was added to the clock. Frankian calmly made the first free throw, missed the second free throw and time expired.
The Lancers scored the game’s final five points to pull out the big road victory.
In a game that saw eight lead changes and four ties, Westfield snapped a 44-44 deadlock on a Keri Doldoorian layup with 3:46 remaining and an Ashton layup for a 48-44 lead with 2:07 remaining. Westfield scored these two field goals after consecutive Worcester shot clock violations.
Worcester’s Meaghan Burns made a key jumper at the top of the key for a 48-46 score at the 1:52 mark, then Shannen El-Qasem hit a baseline jumper with 1:02 remaining to tie the score.
In the first half, both teams struggled offensively as the Lancers led at intermission, 24-19. Forward Tania Ortiz of Holyoke scored all 10 of her points in the first half to spark the Owls. O’Keefe – a 6-1 senior center from Warren (Quaboag HS) -scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the first half, including two buckets from beyond the arc.
Westfield appeared to be taking control when it scored the first eight points of the second half for a 27-24 lead. But the biggest lead for either team in the second half was three points until the Owls took their four-point lead with 2:07 remaining.
O’Keefe’s monster game of 21 points and 19 boards included an 8-for-11 effort form the field (3 for 5 from beyond the arc) and 14 defensive rebounds. Burns was Worcester’s second leading rebounder and scorer with seven boards and seven points. The Lancers outrebounded the Owls, 47-36, including a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass.
Ashton led Westfield with 13 points and nine steals. Gabby Felix had a team-high nine rebounds and scored eight points.
Both teams were 12 for 18 from the foul line and nearly identical from the field (17-56 Worcester; 17-54 Westfield). However, the Lancers were 3 for 16 from 3-point range.
