WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The nationally ranked Babson College women's basketball team posted a 78-56 victory over Bridgewater State University in the semifinals of the Shooting Touch Tournament hosted by Williams College on Friday evening at Chandler Gymnasium.

The Beavers, who were ranked #17 in the latest D3hoops.com Poll, improve to 5-0 on the season, while the Bears fall to 6-2. The win marked the 698th coaching victory for Babson skipper and BSU Hall of Famer, Judy Blinstrub.

Babson will take on host Williams in the tournament championship game on Saturday afternoon at three o'clock. Williams edged Keene State College in the other semifinal matchup this evening, 48-35. Bridgewater and Keene will face off in the consolation game on Saturday at one.

Sophomore guard Katlelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) paced Babson with 17 points as she knocked down 5 of 8 three-pointers. Senior forward Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) added 13 points on 6 of 7 shooting for the Beavers to go along with seven rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal, while freshman guard Allessia Carlo (Carmel, N.Y.) added 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting including 2-for-2 from behind the arc.

Senior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) led the way for Bridgewater State with a game-high 18 points. Bradbury went 6-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-7 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) checked in with 11 points and four rebounds for the Bears, while senior guard Kylee Piche (Bridgewater, Mass.) contributed eight points, four rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) added eight points two rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes off the bench.

The Bears led 14-11 following a Tripp jumper with 5:38 remaining in the first quarter. The Beavers, however, reeled off 13 straight points, including a Mollica trifecta and four points apiece from Smith and sophomore guard Abby Miller (Millis, Mass.), to pull ahead, 24-14.

Mollica drained a three-pointer to open the second quarter to complete a 16-1 run as the Beavers took a 27-15 lead . The Bears got as close as seven points (27-20) in the period following a Bradbury trifecta before the Beavers used a 10-2 spurt to open up their biggest lead of the half at 15 points (37-22). Four different plays scored during the run including three points apiece from Smith and senior guard Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.). A Miller layup late in the session made it a 39-26 game at the break.

Babson pulled away in the second half and got up by as many as 33 points early in the fourth quarter before settling for the 78-56 victory.

The Beavers shot 48.5% (32-66) for the game and 44.4% (8-18) from three-point range, but connected on just 6 of 16 (37.5%) free throw attempts. The Bears finished with shooting percentages of 35.5% (22-62) from the floor, 33.3% (5-15) from behind the arc and 63.6% (7-11) at the charity stripe.

Babson forced 20 turnovers and held a 28-9 advantage in points off turnovers. The Beavers also outrebounded the Bears, 45-36, with 20 boards coming off the offensive glass which led to a 27-11 edge in second chance points.