By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Smith College women's basketball team reached the NCAA Division III championship game last winter, losing to New York University in the final.
On Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center, the Pioneers provided proof why they are national title contenders.
Smith opened a 20-point lead in the first quarter and coasted from start to finish, handing Bridgewater State University an 83-50 loss, the fourth straight defeat for the Bears.
"They're a solid team," said BSU coach Bridgett Casey. "They're nationally ranked for a reason. They're fundamentally sound. They don't make many mistakes."
Smith (10-1) is ranked No. 9 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll and No. 13 in the D3hoops.com poll and is 121-14 since the start of the 2019-20 season with back-to-back 30-win seasons.
The Pioneers raced to a 23-3 lead before owning a 26-7 advantage after one quarter. They were in front, 46-19, at halftime and led, 67-40, going into the final quarter.
Smith made 53 percent of its shots, including 44 percent from 3-point range, while BSU (7-5) connected on 29.5 percent and 17 percent on 3-pointers.
The Bears were outrebounded, 49-29, and managed to turn 19 Pioneers' turnovers into just 10 points.
Senior Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) led BSU with 13 points and had two steals while senior Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) was also in double figures with 11 points and had eight rebounds.
Senior Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) grabbed eight rebounds and added six points for BSU.
Smith was led by graduate student Ally Landau (Livingston, N.J.) with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Sophomore Uta Nakamura (New York, N.Y.) came off the bench and added double-doubke totals of 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists and two blocks while senior Jane Loo (Saratoga, Calif.) had 13 points.
After beginning the season with a loss at Division I Bryant University, the Bears went on a seven-game winning streak, including a victory over nationally ranked UMass Dartmouth.
But since the Dec. 7 win over the Corsairs, the lone team to defeat Smith this season, BSU has lost four in a row.
This is the longest losing streak for the Bears since they dropped five in a row in December 2019.
The last two setbacks against Washington University of St. Louis and Smith have been against nationally ranked teams.
BSU typically plays a challenging schedule in November, December and early January in preparation for the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference season, which starts on Wednesday night.
"We're pushing," said Casey. "We've got to continue to play a tough schedule. To be the best, you've got to play the best.
"We deserve to be on the same court as (Smith). Unfortnuately, we just didn't play well together offensively. Some shots weren't falling and we rushed some things.
"Defensively has been our strong point. But I just don't think we defended very well in the team aspect. It's not what we've been doing."
BSU made only 2 of 12 shots in the first quarter when it fell into a 19-point hold after 10 minutes while Smith was hitting 9 of 12 shots.
Graduate student Kylee Piche (Bridgewater, Mass.) scored on a layup with 6:39 left in the quarter to pull the Bears within 6-2, but the next point came on a foul shot by junior Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, N.Y.) with 1:40 remaining, making it 19-3.
"You needed to match them and play even with them early," said Casey. "Any lead is tough to come back from, especially since we've been struggling shooting."
BSU did not reach the 10-point mark until a layup by freshman Lexi Thompson (New Bedford, Mass.) with 6:40 to go in the half, and the Bears were shooting 7-for-31 at halftime.
The Bears start the MASCAC schedule by hosting Salem State University at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, looking to put the losing streak in the rear-view mirror with a fresh start.
"We play this schedule to get us ready for MASCAC play," said Casey, who remains one win away from 400 in her career. "You wish as a coach you work on some of the areas you needed to work on. What got you to seven wins in a row let us down for four games in a row, mostly our team defense and not shooting well."
Smith travels to New York on Tuesday afternoon to face Hamilton at 3:30 p.m.