Bridgewater State 74, Worcester State 65
Bridgewater, MA --- Sophomore forward Shelly DePina (New
Bedford, MA) tallied a season-high 22 points to go along with seven
rebounds and three steals to lead the Bridgewater State College
women's basketball team to a 74-65 Massachusetts State College
Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Worcester State this
afternoon in Bridgewater.
Bridgewater State clinches at least a share of the MASCAC regular
season title as the Bears improve to 9-1 in conference play and
13-9 overall. Worcester State falls to 13-10 on the season and 7-4
in the MASCAC.
DePina connected on 7 of 13 field goal attempts and was 8-for-9
from the free throw line as she was one of five Bears to finish in
double-figure scoring.
Freshman guard Elisha Homich (Ludlow, MA) notched 14 points, three
assists, two rebound and two steals as she was a perfect 9-for-9 at
the charity stripe. Freshman forward Michaela Cosby (Walpole, MA)
added ten points, seven boards (four offensive), and three steals.
Cosby was also perfect at the line as she was 6-for-6. As a team,
Bridgewater connected on 23 of 24 (96%) free throw attempts.
Also finishing in double-figures were senior forward Michaela
Johnson (Riverside, RI) and junior guard Brittney Chappron
(Braintree, MA). Johnson scored 12 points on 6 of 10 shooting while
also grabbing four rebounds to go along with two assists and three
steals. Chappron chipped in with 11 points as well as three assists
and a pair of boards.
Freshman guard Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) paced the
visiting Lancers off the bench with 14 points as she was a 4-for-7
from the floor including 3 of 3 from three-point range. Rogers was
also 3-for-3 at the line and added two assists and five steals.
Senior forward Bri Flanders (Southampton, MA)
chipped in with 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting while also pulling
down five rebounds.
Senior forward Reilly O'Keefe (Warren, MA) added
12 points, five boards and three steals for Worcester, while
freshman center Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) came
off the bench to score 12 points on 6 of 11 shooting.
With Bridgewater State ahead 49-35 with 14:27 remaining in the
second half for their largest lead of the game, Rogers sparked a
14-0 Worcester State run as the visitors knotted the game 49-49 at
the 9:55 mark. Crosby canned a pair of free throw shots to stop the
rally before Flanders drained a lay-up to tie things up 51-51.
From there Bridgewater State converted three Lancer miscues into
seven points as they took the 58-51 advantage at 7:51. Flanders
then converted a three-point play to whittle the lead back to four
points, but the Bears would not falter as they maintained more than
a seven point margin for the remainder of the game. BSC would go
12-for-12 from the charity stripe to keep the Lancers in check.
The Bears had the early 12-10 lead seven minutes into the contest
before they went on a 14-4 run to take a 26-14 edge with at 8:54
left. Over the next four minutes Worcester State would outscore the
Bears 13-5 to trail by four (31-27), but Bridgewater State closed
out the half with a 9-2 surge to lead 40-29 at the intermission.
Both teams will play again on Tuesday evening. Worcester State travels to nationally ranked Tufts for a 7 PM tip-off while BSC heads to Salem State for a 6 PM start.
Portions of Release Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information