ATLANTA—Keimarya Rivera and Kat Johnson hit double figures and head coach Alex Richey hit win No. 150 as the Oglethorpe women's basketball team won on New Year's Eve, 65-58 against Worcester State Sunday afternoon.

Rivera led all scorers with 18 points, four rebounds and a career high three blocked shots while Johnson contributed 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks. They were the first of 10 Stormy Petrels in the scoring column. Briley Elder and Malia Melton added eight points apiece, and Jessamy Gaetanos came next with seven.

Morgan Skipper had a big game off the bench with nine rebounds alongside five points.

Worcester State jumped out to an early five-point lead in the opening minutes, but Oglethorpe answered with a 23-3 run that put the Petrels in the lead for good. Six Petrels were in the scoring column in that run alone, an eight-minute stretch spanning the first and second quarters. Rivera scored eight of her points in the run, and Oglethorpe as a team went 8-for-13 from the field.

Worcester State battled back to trim the deficit to as little as three in the third quarter and four late in the fourth quarter. Elder had a big 3-pointer to answer the third-quarter run, and a tough layup from Gaetanos in the final minute helped seal the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

• Oglethorpe made its first 14 free throws of the game and ended 15-of-16 from the charity stripe.
• Gaetanos had a game-high four assists.
• This was the first meeting between Oglethorpe and Worcester State in Oglethorpe's NCAA Division III era, which started in 1988.
• Richey's milestone of 150 moved him to 150-93 (61.7%). He is the winningest Oglethorpe women's basketball coach in the Division III era as he hit the milestone in just his 10th season.

Up Next

Oglethorpe returns in 2024 with a slate of Southern Athletic Association games the rest of the season. This starts with a home weekend as the Petrels host Hendrix and Rhodes at Dorough Field House next Friday, Jan. 5, and Sunday, Jan. 7.