BOSTON, Mass.—UMass Boston women's basketball's (9-5) allowed a season-low 37 points, as the Beacons dominated Bridgewater State (8-7) 64-37 Thursday evening at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
The 37 points were the fewest UMass Boston had allowed all season and marked the fewest points allowed in 39 games for a Beacons' opponent. Last season, UMass Boston defeated Simmons College 71-37 in the Beacons season-opener.
Despite a poor shooting day, freshman guard Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) led the Beacons in scoring for the third time in four games, with 13 points in 31 minutes. She also added four assists, three steals and two rebounds to help the Beacons knock off the Bears for the second-straight season and seventh time in 31 all-time meetings.
Junior Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) added her seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. In three career games against the Bears, Murphy is averaging 19.3 points and 14.6 rebounds per game.
Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) was the third and final Beacon in double-digits, as she finished with 11 points and a career-high six rebounds. Mathieu and Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.), who scored seven points to go along with her seven rebounds, helped the Beacons' bench outscore Bridgewater State's bench 28-14.
Bridgewater State's leading scorer Chanelle Melton was the lone Bear to reach double-digits, as the sophomore ended the game with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Rhiana Page was the only other Bear to record more than four points, as she finished with six points off the bench.
UMass Boston held Bridgewater State to 26.1 percent (12-of-46) shooting from the field and just 9.1 percent (1-of-11) shooting from distance. The Beacons heated up after a slow start, to shoot 24-of-56 (42.9 percent) from the field and 31.2 percent (5-of-16) from behind the 3-point line.
In a game that was littered with 54 turnovers, UMass Boston made the most of their opportunities, as they outscored Bridgewater State 37-15 in points off turnovers, despite only holding a 30-24 edge in total turnovers.
With the two teams separated by two points at the 12:31 mark of the first half, UMass Boston went on a 9-1 run to take control of the contest. Murphy opened the run with a pair of layups, before Edwards forced a Bridgewater State timeout with a lay-in of her own. Mathieu capped off the flurry with one of her three 3-pointers on the evening.
UMass Boston pushed the lead to 10 by halftime, before putting the game out of reach midway through the second stanza.
After Chelsea Saucier brought Bridgewater State within eight, at 35-27, with 16:35 remaining to play, the Beacons responded with a 19-1 spurt to put the game out of reach.
The Beacons held the Bears without a field goal for eight minutes and 31 seconds during the span, with six different players scoring for the Beacons in that span. Geary led UMass Boston with six points during the run, including a personal 5-0 flurry to give the Beacons a game-high 26-point lead, 54-28, with eight minutes to play.
From there, the Beacons would stretch their lead to as many as 29, before resting their starters over the final minutes.
UMass Boston will look for their third win in three games this week, when they travel to Western Connecticut State University Saturday at 1 p.m. in a Little East Conference contest.