FITCHBURG, Mass. -- Bridgewater State University guard Brittney Chappron scored 27 points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game into overtime, as the visiting Bears downed MASCAC foe Fitchburg State University, 99-96, on Saturday afternoon in Fitchburg.
With the big conference win, Bridgewater improves to 14-5 on the season and 5-3 in the MASCAC. Fitchburg falls to 9-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Down 82-78 inside the final minute of the second half, Monica-Sabina Bharoocha scored on a layup to cut the Bears' deficit to two with 39 seconds left to play. Bharoocha then forced a steal and was fouled with 26 seconds remaining, but missed both free throw attempts. After Bridgewater was forced to foul, Fitchburg's Kelly Rogers calmly sank a pair of free throws to put the Falcons back up by four (84-80).
On the ensuing possession, Bridgewater turned the ball over with 16 seconds left and Fitchburg seemed to be on their way to a key conference win. But Rogers made just one of two free throws after Bridgewater was forced to foul. The Bears were able to take advantage as Elisha Homich drained a three with nine second left to make it a two-point game at 85-83.
Bridgewater fouled immediately out of a timeout and Fitchburg's Molly Maloney connected on just one of two at the line. Bridgewater quickly inbounded and got the ball into Chappron's hands at the top of the three-point arc. With the clock ticking down to zero, Chappron turned and let fly the buzzer-beating trifecta.
There would be three lead changes and one tie in overtime. The final tie came on a conventional three-point play by Rogers which evened the score at 93-93 with 1:06 remaining. After Jenna Williamson knocked down two free throws to put the Bears back on top, 95-93, teammate Corey Cuddihy forced a big turnover and calmly sank two shots from the charity stripe with just 14 seconds left to play. Rogers made things somewhat interesting with a three-pointer with three seconds to go, but Chappron put the finishing touches on the exciting win with a pair of free throws.
Bridgewater shot 55% (36-66) from the field for the game including 9 of 26 (35%) from three-point range. The Bears also connected on 18 of 26 (69%) free throw attempts.
Fitchburg shot 47% (33-70) from the field for the game including 7 of 15 (47%) from three-point range. The Falcons also connected on 23 of 34 (68%) free throw attempts.
Both teams turned the ball over 27 times apiece with Bridgewater scoring 25 points off turnovers and Fitchburg 24. There were seven ties in the game and 12 lead changes.
Along with her season-high 27 points, Chappron also added four assists and a pair of steals. Megan Boutilette added 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and five steals. Bharoocha finished with 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting and also registered four steals. Homich notched nine points, six boards, five assists and a pair of steals, while Michaela Cosby scored ten points on 5-for-5 shooting.
Rogers paced the host Falcons with 26 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Melissa Proffitt checked in with 16 points and four boards, while Amy Fahey added 14 points and four rebounds. Maloney finished with 12 points, five boards, two assists and three steals. Rebecca Goreham notched 11 points and six rebounds and Megan Jacobs chipped in with 10 points, three rebounds, four assists and five steals.
Bridgewater held the biggest lead of the game at 13 points twice in the second half. The Bears were up 73-64 with 7:25 left in the second stanza but saw that lead quickly evaporate as Fitchburg went on a 12-2 run with Fahey scoring nine of her 14 points during the spurt. The Falcons would not trail again until overtime.