Bridgewater, MA --- Bridgewater State sophomore Chanelle Melton (Brockton, MA) matched her career-high with 20 points to lead Bridgewater State to a 70-48 victory over Worcester State in MASCAC women's basketball action this afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 9-7 on the season and 3-1 in the league while the Lancers slip to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

Melton finished 9-for-14 from the floor while also pulling down seven rebounds including three off the offensive glass.  She also added two assists and four steals.

BSU senior Rachel Kusz (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter-Marian) chipped in 13 points with ten of those coming in the first half. Kusz connected on 4 of 8 three-point attempts. 

Junior Vanesa Coneicao (New Bedford, MA) filled the stat sheet with nine points, four rebounds, seven assists and five steals as senior Megan Boutilette (Charlton, MA) notched eight points, nine boards, two assists, a block and three steals.

Senior Julie Frankian (Millbury, MA) paced the visitors with 16 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists. Classmate Kiesha Jones (Worcester, MA/Doherty) came off the bench to score ten points to go along with six boards.

Trailing 13-10 midway through the first half, the Bears went on a 18-3 run during a span of 8 ½ minutes to open up a double-digit margin (28-16).  Melton and Kusz combined for 14 points in the surge. 

Bridgewater State ultimately took a 33-22 lead into the break.

The Bears carried the momentum into the second half and took over their largest lead over the first 8:15 of play (53-24).

WSU did trim the deficit to 16 points on the back of a Frankian triple with 5:46 remaining in regulation (58-42), but that was as close as the Lancers go the rest of the way.

Bridgewater State shot 45% (27-60) for the game and nailed half their bids (5-10) from behind the arc. WSU converted 13 of their 14 tries at the charity stripe and held the 33-32 margin in rebounds.

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday evening.  The Bears travel to Fitchburg State to take on the Falcons at 5:30 while the Lancers entertain the Owls of Westfield State University in a 6 PM matchup at Nichols College.

Major Portions Of Release Courtesy Of Bridgewater State Sports Information