Women's Hoops Downs Worcester State, 74-65

Box Score

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- 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.

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.

With Bridgewater State ahead 49-35 with 14:27 remaining in the second half, 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 throws to stop the rally before Flanders drained a lay-up to tie things up at 51-51.

From there Bridgewater State converted three Lancer miscues into seven points as the Bears had a 58-51 advantage with 7:51 left to play. Flanders then converted a three-point play to whittle the lead back to four points.  The Bears, however, 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 down the stretch to keep the Lancers in check.

Saturday was Bridgewater State's WBCA "Pink Zone" game for breast cancer awareness. The WBCA Pink Zone® initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.