BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team withstood a furious second half rally as the host Bears downed the Trailblazers of MCLA, 80-71, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) opener for both teams on Thursday evening at the Tinsley Center.
Bridgewater improves to 6-6 (1-0 MASCAC) on the season as the Bears snapped a four-game losing streak. MCLA falls to 4-8 (0-1 MASCAC) on the year.
Senior guard Colleen Hanscom (Melrose, Mass.) paced the hosts with a double-double as she tallied a season-high 23 points to go along with ten rebounds and five steals. Jenna Williamson added 15 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals, while junior guard Melissa Daigle (Rockland, Mass.) and freshman forward Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) chipped in with ten points apiece. Melton also grabbed three rebounds and recorded a pair of steals in 21 minutes off the bench.
Senior guard Danielle Scolpino (Bethel, Conn.) led the way for MCLA as she scored 21 points on 6 of 11 shooting from three-point range. Sophomore guard Mariah Brown(Windsor Locks, Conn.) added 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and three steals, while senior guard Kaitlyn Chenevert (Uxbridge, Mass.) notched ten points, seven boards, four assists and five steals. Freshman guard Courtney McLaughlin (Pittsfield, Mass.) tallied 11 points off the bench.
Bridgewater took a 44-26 lead into the break as the Bears took advantage of 17 first-half turnovers by MCLA and turned those into 17 points. Bridgewater also dominated inside play outscoring the Trailblazers, 24-4, in the paint over the first 20 minutes. The two teams were whistled for a combined 29 fouls in the opening stanza with the Bears knocking down 10 of 14 free throws while the Trailblazers went 8-for-13 at the charity stripe.
Trailing by 13 points (66-53) with just under eight minutes remaining in the second half, MCLA scored nine straight points capped off by a Scolpino trifecta to pull to within four (66-62) with five and a half minutes left to play.
Moments later, Scolpino would bury another three to make it a three-point game (69-66) as the clock ticked down to four minutes. After a BSU free throw, the Trailblazers had a chance to cut it to two, but turned the ball over. The Bears would promptly reel off six straight points, with Hanscom scoring four of those, to put the game out of reach.
All told, 49 fouls were called in the game and the two teams combined for 53 turnovers. Bridgewater shot 43% (28-65) from the floor and connected on 20 of 30 (67%) free throw attempts. After shooting 28% (8-29) in the first half, MCLA bounced back to shoot 50% (17-34) from the floor in the final stanza. The Trailblazers knocked down 6 of 18 (50%) three-point attempts for the game, and converted 13 of 22 (59%) free throws.
The MASCAC schedule resumes for both teams on Saturday. The Bears entertain Westfield State University at one, while the Trailblazers head to Worcester State University to take on the Lancers at five.
Notes: With her 15 points, Williamson moved into seventh place on the Bears' all-time scoring list as she now has 1,096 points in her career. Williamson jumped over BSU Hall of FamerLynn Malkasian (1,086 pts.) and former teammate Michaela Cosby (1,092 pts.) on the all-time list.