Bridgewater, MA --- Senior Elisha Homich (Ludlow, MA) scored a season-high 23 points and freshman Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, MA) netted 19 points to lead Bridgewater State to a 79-62 victory over Worcester State in MASCAC women's basketball aciton at the Tinsley Center.
The host Bears improve to 14-9 on the season with their sixth straight win, and remain atop the conference standings with an 8-2 conference mark. The Lancers fall to 8-14 overall and 4-5 in league play.
Homich connected on 5 of 9 three-point field goals and added three rebounds, two assists and four steals. Lindland finished 7 for 11 from the floor and 5 of 6 at the charity stripe.
BSU was also paced by senior Colleen Hanscom (Melrose, MA) pitched in with 16 points, six boards, seven assists and two steals while classmate Jenna Williamson (Ludlow, MA) added eight points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Worcester State senior Meaghan Burns (W. Brookfield, MA) propelled the visitors with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Julie Frankian (Millbury, MA) chipped in with 15 points on 7 of 11 effort from the floor to go along with four caroms and a pair of assists.
Junior Shannen El-Qasem (Rutland, MA) and sophomore Natasha Gonzalez (Milford, MA) combined for 15 points for the Lancers in the setback.
Bridgewater State jumped out to a 15-4 lead five minutes into the game while the Bears connected on six of their first nine attempts from the floor - including a trio of three pointers from Hanscom, Homich and Williamson.
Bridgewater State used a stifling defense in the opening period to force 13 Lancer miscues to cushion their margin with a 14-0 edge in points off turnovers for the 32-22 advantage at the intermission.
With the Bears nursing the 46-38 margin with 13:17 remaining in regulation, a pair of Homich trey's sparked a 12-4 spurt before she finished off the run with a lay-up for the 58-42 edge at the midway point. Bridgewater State maintained double-digits and led by as many as 19 in the closing minutes of the contest.
After a tough-shooting first half (11-for-33 - 33 percent), the Bears bounced back by connecting on 55 percent (18-for-33) of their field goal attempts in the final stanza. All told, Bridgewater State forced 21 turnovers in the game thanks in large part to 17 steals. The Bears held a 22-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Blue and Gold finsihed with the 15-11 edge in offensive boards, the 32-30 margin with points in the key and doubled up the hosts in second-chance points (14-7). WSU connected for a modest 41 percent from the game for the field (24-for-59).
The MASCAC schedule resumes for both teams on Saturday afternoon at 1 PM. The Bears travel to Fitchburg State to take on the Falcons while the Lancers entertain the Owls of Westfield State at Clark University.
Some Portions Of Release Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information
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