BOSTON, Mass. -- The UMass Boston women's basketball's team allowed a season-low 37 points as the Beacons cruised to a 64-37 non-conference victory over visiting Bridgewater State University on Thursday evening at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
The 37 points were the fewest UMass Boston (9-5) has allowed since handing Simmons College a 71-37 loss in last year's season-opener. The Bears (8-7) were held to under fifty points for the fifth time in the last nine game.
Despite a poor shooting day, freshman guard Grace Geary(Falmouth, Mass.) led the Beacons in scoring 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 year and just the seventh time in 31 all-time meetings.
Junior forward Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) added her seventh double-double of the season with ten oints and ten rebounds.
Freshman guard 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 sophomore forward Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.), who scored seven points to go along with her seven rebounds, helped the Beacons' bench outscore Bridgewater State's reserves, 28-14.
Bridgewater State's leading scorer, Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.), was the lone Bear to reach double-digits as the sophomore forward ended the game with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman guard Rhiana Page (Brookline, Mass.) was the only other Bear to record more than four points, as she finished with six 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. BSU senior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) led all players with five steals. Boutilette also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked a shot.
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 trifectas on the evening.
UMass Boston pushed the lead to ten by halftime, before putting the game out of reach midway through the second stanza.
After sophomore guard Chelsea Saucier (Portland, Maine) 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 well out of reach.
The Beacons held the Bears without a field goal for eight minutes and 31 seconds 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 26-point lead, 54-28, with eight minutes to play.
From there, the Beacons would stretch the lead to as many as 29 points before settling for the 64-37 win.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday afternoon. UMass Boston travels to Little East Conference rival Western Connecticut State University to take on the Colonials at one, while Bridgewater State entertains Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe Worcester State University at three.