BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior forward Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) scored 21 points to lead the third-seeded Bridgewater State University Bears to a 55-45 victory over #6 Worcester State University in the opening round of the 2016 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.
The Bears (13-12) advance to the MASCAC Tournament semifinal round and will travel to second-seeded Framingham State University on Thursday night to take on the Rams. The Lancers end the season with an overall record of 7-19.
Melton connected on 9 of 15 field goal attempts and added five rebounds and a steal. Senior guard Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass.) contributed 16 points, four rebounds and three steals. Conceicao also dished out four assists including the 300th of her career. Junior forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) rounded out the Bears' double-digit scorers as she finished with 13 points to go along with six rebounds, a blocked shot and three steals.
Freshman center Britt Herring (West Brookfield, Mass.) paced Worcester State with game-high totals of 22 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. The double-double marked her 11th of the season. Freshman forward Kaitlyn Berkel (Waterford, Conn.) also posted a double-double for the Lancers as she notched 12 points and 12 boards in addition to two blocks and a steal.
Bridgewater went just 6-for-25 from the floor over the first 16 minutes of the contest, but finally got untracked late in the second quarter. Trailing 18-12, the Bears closed out the first half with a 10-2 run and held the Lancers to just a pair of free throws over the final five minutes of the period.
Melton paced the Bears with ten points in the first half while Conceicao added eight. Herring led the Lancers with 11 points and ten rebounds in the opening stanza. Bridgewater shot 33% (10-30) from the floor and forced 13 turnovers over the first 20 minutes while Worcester connected on 32% (8-25) of its field goal attempts.
The third quarter featured four ties and four lead changes. Bridgewater led 36-31 following a Melton layup with 3:07 remaining. The Bears, however, did not score again in the period as the Lancers battled back to knot the score at 36-36 on an Emily Carens (Northboro, Mass.) layup and a Berkel three-pointer.
A jumper by Berkel to open the fourth quarter gave the visitors a 38-36 lead. The rest of the quarter, however, belonged to Bridgewater State. A Jennifer Whyte (Braintree, Mass.) three-pointer followed by a Lindland steal and breakaway layup jumpstarted a 13-2 run as the Bears pulled ahead, 49-40, with just 3:29 left play. The Lancers would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way. Another Lindland steal and breakaway layup with 1:18 remaining gave the hosts their biggest lead of the game at 53-42.
Neither team shot the ball well with the Bears shooting 36% (21-58) for the game and the Lancers converting 39% (19-49) of their field goal attempts. The hosts also went 11-for-16 (69%) at the free throw line. Worcester finished with 27 turnovers in the game as Bridgewater held an 18-7 advantage in points off turnovers. The Lancers, however, dominated the boards outrebounding the Bears by a margin of 45-26 which led to a decided 16-3 edge in second chance points.
Release Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information