DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team used a strong second half to overcome a 13-points deficit as the visiting Bears stunned #24 UMass Dartmouth, 78-71, on Tuesday evening at the Tripp Athletic Center.
The Bears, who improve to 2-3 on season, handed the Corsairs (5-1) their first loss of the 2023-2024 campaign. Bridgewater has won each of the last two meeting of the teams and holds a 27-14 advantage in the all-time series. UMass was ranked 24th in the latest D3hoops.com Poll.
Senior guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) and senior forward Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) led the way for Bridgewater State as they each recorded double-doubles. Tripp notched 15 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a game-high seven assists and a pair of steals while Gaucher tallied 12 points and ten rebounds (four offensive) as well as two blocked shots.
Five Bears finished in double-figure scoring. Junior guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) checked in with 19 points and three assists for Bridgewater State while senior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) registered 14 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals, and junior center Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) contributed ten points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
UMD senior guard Kaylin Zalewski (Johnston, R.I.) led all players with a game-high 27 points on 7 of 11 shooting from three-point range. Zalewski also pulled down six rebounds and dished out three assists. Senior guard Teja Andrews (Plymouth, Mass.) added 17 points and four steals for the Corsairs who also received double-double totals of ten points and a game-best 12 rebounds (four offensive) from senior forward Carly Whiteside (Barnstable, Mass.).
UMass led 36-26 at the break as both teams struggled with their shooting. The Corsairs shot 33% (13-39) in the first half, including just 2-for-17 (11.8%) from three-point range, while the Bears connected on 9 of 42 (21.4%) field goal attempts and went 3-for-13 (23.1%) from behind the arc.
A Zalewski three-pointer to open the third quarter gave the host their biggest lead of the game at 13 points (39-26). The Bears then took control of the period. A 15-0 BSU run over the next 3 ½ minutes put the visitors on top, 41-39. Gaucher and Bradbury tallied five points apiece during the game-changing run.
After a pair of UMD free throws evened the score, the Bears used a 10-1 spurt to open a 51-42 advantage. The run was highlighted by a Grassi three-pointer and capped off by a Jordan Peebles (Jr., Middleboro, Mass.) layup. Bridgewater would ultimately take a 58-49 lead into the final period. The Bears outscored the Corsairs, 32-13, in the third quarter. UMass went 3-for-21 (14.3%) from the floor in the session.
UMass came out strong to start the fourth quarter and used a 14-4 run on the strength of a trio of three-pointer by Zalewski to reclaim the lead, 63-62, That would be the first of six lead changes in a back-and-forth final 6 ½ minutes of the period. The Corsairs last lead of the contest (71-70) came on a Whiteside layup with 1:47 remaining. After a stop, UMass had a chance to make it a three-point game but couldn't convert a breakaway layup. UMass would not score again.
Bridgewater answered with a running jumper by Tripp to jump ahead, 72-71. The Bears then forced a turnover and Bradbury buried a clutch three-pointer with time winding down on the shot clock to make it a four-point game at 75-71 with 29.1 seconds left to play. Bridgwater went 3-for-4 at the free throw line over the final 16 seconds to secure the 78-71 victory.
The Bears shot 60.6% (20-33) in the second half including 4-for-7 from behind the arc. The Corsairs went 5-for-13 from three-point range in the second half but just 5-for-24 (20.8%) from inside the arc. UMass also converted 10 of 12 free throw attempts over the final 20 minutes.
Notes: Tripp's double-double marked the first of her career…Gaucher has three career double-doubles...BSU's five starters accounted for 70 of the Bears' 78 points (89.7%)...Zalewski, Andrews and Whiteside accounted for 54 of the Corsairs' 71 points (76.1%)...Bradbury connected for four three-pointers to increase her career total to 132 as she moved past Hannah Dziadyk into fourth place on the Bears' all-time list.
Up Next: The Bears host Clark University on Saturday afternoon at one o'clock. The Corsairs are off until Wednesday, December 6th (5:00 PM) when they open Little East Conference play on the road against Eastern Connecticut State University.