Top-seeded Westfield State and sixth-seeded Salem State will meet for the 2009 MASCAC Women's Basketball Championship on Saturday afternoon after advancing with respective league semi-final round victories on Friday evening at the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

The Owls (21-4) notched a 66-46 triumph over fourth-seeded Worcester State in the opening game of the evening, and the Vikings (11-16) posted their second upset win of the tournament with a 64-50 win over second-seeded Fitchburg State in the nightcap.

Saturday's championship game will be played at Westfield State's Woodward Center beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live via MASCAC TV. Westfield State, the MASCAC regular season championship, is seeking its first league tournament crown in 17 years, while Salem State is looking for its 17th MASCAC tournament title (and first in three years) after winning 16 of the first 17 championships dating back to 1990.

Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore reserve forward Christal Bello (West Boylston) led an extremely balanced attack with 10 points as Westfield State College rolled to a 66-46 victory over Worcester State in the semifinals of the Massachusetts State College Athletics Conference women's basketball tournament.

Westfield, 21-4 and the No. 1 seed, plays in Saturday's championship game at 1:00. The Owls will host sixth-seeded Salem State.

"This was an outstanding win for us," said Westfield State head coach Andrea Bertini. "We came ready to play and our bench play was unbelievable."

Westfield's reserves outscored Worcester's bench by 23 points, 30-7. Sparking the Owls to a 44-28 first half lead were Bello and junior forward Molly Brogan (Mendon), who scored six and nine points, respectively.

For the game, three players finished with nine points and two with eight points in the Owls' balanced attack. And in the first half, Westfield shot a sizzling 57 percent from the floor, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range.

"Three-point shooting was huge; it really helped us spread the floor," said Bertini. "But our biggest key was the bench. The whole bench played well."

The score was tied 17-all with 9:05 left in the first half. The Owls went on an 18-3 run over the next four minutes for 35-20 lead. In addition to his fine shooting, Westfield also clamped down defensively, forcing numerous turnovers.

"Defense has been a staple all year," said Bertini. "I knew if we came to play that we could win the game."

Worcester finished its season with a 10-17, but the Lancers were the hot team coming into the tournament as they had won six straight conference games after losing to Westfield, 64-50, on Feb. 3.

At the outset of the second half, the Owls had a six-minute cold spell and Worcester went on a 9-1 run to close within eight points, 45-37. But senior guard Katie Sylvain (Hadley) canned a 3-pointer to give the Owls a 49-37 lead with 13:40 remaining. It was Westfield's first field goal of the second half.

"We were playing hard but we were just a little flat," said Bertini. "After that early timeout we were able to get our energy players in the game. Molly and Christal especially gave us a big lift."

Westfield quickly built a 20-point lead midway thru the second stanza, and its biggest lead was 23 points, 66-43, with 3:43 remaining.

Lauren Sylain (Hadley) scored nine points on three 3-point baskets and Brogan finished with nine points, all in the first half. Sophomore center Cassey Jouannet (Conway) scored nine points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Andrea Wasuk (Lenox) and Katie Sylvain each had eight points.

Freshman guard Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven) scored a game-high 17 points for Worcester State. Sophomore guard Alexis George (Worcester Holy Name) had 10 points. Junior forward Brianne Flanders (Southampton/Hampshire) had four points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Salem State 64, Worcester State 50

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Strong inside play from junior center Danielle Jenkins of Marlboro (game highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds) and sensational 3-point shooting from freshman guard Amy Barry of Manchester, N.H. (15 points) powered Salem State to a 64-50 upset victory over Fitchburg State in the semifinals of the Massachusetts State College Athletics Conference tournament.

Salem, the No. 6 seed with an 11-16 record, faces No. 1 seed Westfield State in the championship game on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 1:00 at Westfield State. Fitchburg, the No. 2 seed, finishes 16-10.

Salem trailed Fitchburg, 24-21, at halftime but the Vikings outscored the Falcons, 43-26, in the second half, led by double-digit scoring from Jenkins, junior forward Katie Bielonko (Chicopee) and Barry's torrid shooting.

In the second half, Jenkins scored 16 of her 20 points and Bielonko tallied 11 of her 17 points. Bielonko was 11-for-14 from the foul line, while the Vikings were 20-for-31 as a team.

Barry was bombs away as she scored 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. Barry was 4-for-5 from beyond the arc during a critical stretch in the second half. With Salem leading 37-34 with 7:32 remaining, Barry drained the four treys during a three-minute spurt, with the last 3-ball giving the Vikings a 51-37 lead with 4:27 remaining.

Salem junior guard Jakoya Wikins (Dorchester) played a fine floor game with four points and 12 assists.

Fitchburg out-rebounded Salem, 52-41, including 19 on the offensive glass, but the Falcons only shot 25 percent from the field.

Stephanie Payette (Townsend) had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Melissa Proffitt (Hubbardston) finished with nine points and 15 rebounds.