Vikings Fall to Lancers in Opening Round

SALEM, Mass. – Salem State women's basketball hosted the Lancers of Worcester State University for the opening round of the MASCAC tournament. After 40 minutes of action the fifth seeded Lancers stole the 79-57 victory over the fourth seeded Vikings, putting an end to Salem State women's basketball 2022-23 season.

The Vikings were led by Ernidia Goncalves (Everett, Mass.) who netted 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Alyssa Genness (Belgrade, Maine) notched 12 pointog her own. Avery Clifford (Burriville, R.I.) added a career-high 13 points in the effort.

Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, Mass.) and Erin Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) paced the Lancers with 18 and 15 points, respectively, with teammate, Sarah Blomgren (Lunenburg, Mass.) pitching in 12 points and nine rebounds in the win.

How it Happened:

• The Vikings took the quick 5-0 lead after Alyssa Genness went a perfect 3 for 3 from the free throw line, but shortly after the Lancers would claim their first lead of the game after a 8-0 run of their own put them ahead 10-7 with 5:22 left in the first.
• With 2:57 on the clock, the Vikings reclaimed the lead after a Goncalves layup put her squad ahead by one (13-12). The remainder of the quarter would see three lead changes before the Lancers scored six unanswered points to take the 20-15 advantage heading into the second quarter.
• Two minutes into the second quarter, the Lancers found their first double-digit lead after a 8-2 run put them up, 28-17, forcing the Vikings to use a timeout. Coming out of the regroup, Worcester was able to use their full court pressure to force three Vikings' turnovers to build on their lead. Goncalves was able to stop the bleeding at the 6:26 mark of the second when an easy layup brought her team within 17 points (36-19) of the Lancers. The Vikings would only get as close as 15 points in the second, as the Lancers commanded the whole quarter, to go into the half with the sizeable 47-27 advantage.
• Salem opened the third quarter with a quick two points, before a scoreless two minutes was ended by four unanswered Lancer points, to put Worcester up 51-29 with 7:06 remaining.
• With under three minutes to go in the stanza, Clifford netted back-to-back three pointers to cut into the 20-point deficit and bring the Vikings within 18 (57-39) but the Lancers would regain a 24-point cushion to head into the final ten minutes with the comfortable 63-39 lead.
• The deficit proved to be too much for the Vikings to tackle in ten minutes, allowing the Lancers to cruise to the 79-57 victory over the Vikings.