BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior guard Michaela Cosby (Walpole, Mass.) scored a game-high 19 points, including the 1,000th of her career, to lead the Bridgewater State university women's basketball team to an 87-55 victory over Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe Salem State University on Senior Night at the Tinsley Center.
Cosby, who became the 15th player in BSU women's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, notched her milestone and final points of the day on a short jumper with 5:17 remaining in the contest which gave the hosts a commanding 74-45 lead.
The Bears improve to 19-3 on the season with their seventh straight win and remain atop the MASCAC standings with a 9-1 conference mark. Bridgewater can clinch the regular season title with a win at Worcester State on Thursday night (6:00). Salem slips to 10-13 overall and 3-7 in MASCAC play.
Cosby also finished with six rebounds, three assists, a block and a team-best six steals. Junior guard Elisha Homich (Ludlow, Mass.) added 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting from three-point range to go along with six assists and three steals. Junior forward Megan Boutilette(Charlton, Mass.) came off the bench to register 13 points, a team-high eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, while sophomore forward Alana Watkins (Wareham, Mass.) tallied 11 points also off the bench.
With the score knotted at 12-12 five minutes into the first half, the Bears used an 11-0 run to open up a double-digit lead and would never look back. Cosby scored four points during the run as she started it with a driving layup and ended it with a pull-up jumper. The Bears took a 21 point advantage (49-28) into the intermission as Cosby scored the final four points of the stanza including a buzzer-beating jumper.
Cosby finished with ten points in the opening stanza, while Homich also notched ten points and Boutilette added eight. The Bears knocked down 6 of 11 three-pointers in the half and forced 12 turnovers.
Salem scored 18 points in the paint and finished a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the first half. The Vikings, however, were ineffective with their perimeter shooting as they did not connect from outside the paint and went 0-for-12 from three-point range over the first 20 minutes.
The Vikings poor shooting continued into the second half, as did the Bears' tenacious defensive pressure. Bridgewater forced 16 more turnovers, while Salem continued to struggle with their outside shooting. The Vikings never threatened in the second half as the Bears ran away with the 32-point victory.
Fifty of the Viking's 55 points came from in the paint or at the free throw line as the visitors finished just 1-for-20 from three-point range. Salem shot 28.6% (20-70) for the game, but did manage to knock down 14 of 17 (82.4%) free throw attempts.
The Bears connected on 47.7% (31-65) of their field goal attempts including 9-for-18 (50%) from behind the arc. The BSU bench led by Boutilette and Watkins outscore the Vikings' reserves by a margin of 38-14.
Salem was paced by sophomore guard Rachel Carter (Merrimack, N.H.) who notched 13 points and six rebounds. Senior forward Sandra Lanier (Groton, Mass.) pulled down a game-high ten rebounds with six coming off the offensive glass. The Vikings held a slight 44-43 rebounding advantage with a 22-14 edge in offensive boards.
Cosby and fellow senior Kelly O'Neill (Bridgewater, Mass.), who were playing in their final regular season home game, were honored in a pre-game ceremony.