Trailblazers Defeat Lancers

Saturday, January 31, 2009
MCLA Celebrates 20th National Girls and Women in Sports Day with a 72-59 Win Over Worcester State

NORTH ADAMS, MA - Over 65 girls in grades three to eight and 15 area women spent the afternoon celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day on the MCLA campus. They enjoyed a day of sport clinics run by 60 of the Trailblazer female athletes and four coaches in basketball, volleyball, soccer, and softball. The girls also had the chance to explore a career in athletic training hosted by MCLA's athletic trainers Matt Boillett and Amanda Beckwith or take part in a boxing session headed by Gail Gramdchamp. A pizza party followed and the day was capped off by cheering on the women's basketball team to a 72-59 win over conference foe Worcester State College. MCLA improves to 11-8 overall and 2-5 in the MASCAC while Worcester falls to 5-14 overall and 1-6 in the conference. It was the 1996-97 season and 25 games ago when the Trailblazers last captured a win over the Lancers.

In the first half Laura Silverman (Ballston Lake, NY) and Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, NY) were both in double figures. Silverman started the Trailblazer scoring with six straight points and would finish the half with 10 of her 22 points on the night. Wehner entered the game and had an instant effect on both ends of the floor scoring 12 points and collecting six rebounds. Both teams battled back and forth in the half with a gap no greater than six points at any time. Worcester's Brittany McGinness (Billerica, MA) was her teams leader for the half with eight points. The Lancers took a one point, 33-32, lead into the break.

Worcester's held a brief three point lead in the second half, but Silverman again rattled off an early six straight points to give her team the lead for the rest of the game. The Trailblazers built a lead as much as 14 points behind the scoring of Wehner, Silverman, and Alie Dobrovolc (Little Falls, NY). With just over three minutes left, the Lancers would pull as close as three points (61-58) behind an 11-point scoring efforts of Alexis George (Worcester, MA). That's when Dobrovolc dropped five quick points to bring the lead back to eight with under three minutes to play. From there Worcester was forced to foul and Wehner took over the final scoring for the Trailblazers going 6 for 7 from the line sealing a much needed 72-59 conference win.

GAMES NOTES:
MCLA continued their dominance on the boards out-working the Lancers 40-35 in rebounding.
Silverman scored a season high 22 points and earned her seventh double-double (22-10) of the season
Wehner finished with her eighth double-double (24-13) of the season and her 24 points was her second highest point total on the year
Chelsey Burke (Southampton, MA) dished out six assists