BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore guard Rachel Ledbetter's (Dracut, Mass.) three-pointer at the buzzer lifted the visiting Salem State University women's basketball team to a dramatic 67-66 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.
Salem improves to 7-11 on the season and 2-3 in the MASCAC, while Bridgewater slips to 8-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
Junior guard Rachael Carter (Merrimack, N.H.) paced the Vikings with a game-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and a steal. With her 20 points, Carter increased Senior forward Ginny Fleming (Peabody, Mass.) added 17 points and 12 boards as she posted a double-double.
Senior guard Colleen Hanscom (Melrose, Mass.) led the Bears with 18 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three steals. Junior guard Rachel Kusz (Worcester, Mass.) came off the bench to score 17 points as she knocked down 3 of 5 three-point tries. Senior guard Jenna Williamson (Ludlow, Mass.) recorded her first career double-double as she tallied 12 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds to go along with three assists.
The first half was closely contest with Bridgewater holding a 30-28 lead at the break. Salem held the Bears scoreless over the first four minutes and jumped out to an 11-2 lead on anAshley White (Salem, Mass.) layup with 14:39 remaining in the stanza. Bridgewater responded with a 10-2 run as Kusz netted six point during the run on a pair of three-point plays. Neither team would lead by more than three points the rest of the half as there were four ties and five lead changes. A Williamson three-point play with 1:57 left gave the host the 30-28 advantage.
The Bears opened up a nine-point second-half lead and seemed in control of the game up 63-54 with 3:51 remaining. The Vikings, however, reeled off ten straight points capped off by aLara Bruni (Gloucester, Mass.) layup with 21.3 seconds left to jump ahead, 65-63. Bruni had a chance at a three-point play but missed the ensuing free throw. The Vikings pulled down the offensive board but missed a follow-up layup. Hanscom grabbed the defensive board and was fouled with 15.7 seconds left. She knocked down both free throw to push the Bears back on top, 65-64.
Salem had a chance to set up for a potential winning shot but turned the ball over. The Vikings fouled immediately and BSU senior guard Elisha Homich (Ludlow, Mass.) made 1 of 2 free throws to make it a two-point game (66-64) with 2.4 seconds remaining.
Having to go the length of the floor, the Vikings inbounded the ball with a pass to half court. The clock, however, was started too soon, allowing the Vikings to run another play as the clock was re-set. Carter threw a long baseball pass to Ledbetter who was standing about six feet behind the three-point arc. Ledbetter turned and heaved a desperation shot that banked in off the backboard as the buzzer sounded.
Salem shot 42% (27-64) from the floor for the game while Bridgewater connected on 39% (24-62) of its' field goal attempts. Both teams struggled with their long-distance shooting as the Vikings finished 2-for-12 (17%) from the behind the arc while the Bears were just 5-for-21 (24%) from three-point range. Salem held a 44-36 rebounding advantage including a 13-10 edge on the offensive glass.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday evening. The Bears entertain non-conference foe Suffolk University at seven, while the Vikings host MASCAC rival MCLA at 5:30.
Notes: Williamson surpassed Corey Cuddihy (2007-2011) as the Bears' all-time leader in made three-point field goals as she now has 181 in her career. The record-breaking shot occurred with 2:59 remaining in the first half.