Women's Basketball Downs Framingham State, 77-65, to Advance to MASCAC Title Game

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Behind 22 points from senior guard Michaela Cosby (Walpole, Mass.), the top-seeded Bridgewater State University Bears posted a 77-65 victory over #4 seed Framingham State University in the semifinal round of the 2013 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday night at the Tinsley Center.

Bridgewater (22-3) will now advance to the tournament championship game for the third straight season and fourth time in the last six years as the Bears will host third-seeded Westfield State University on Saturday afternoon at one.  Westfield downed #2 seed Worcester State University, 45-36, in the other semifinal matchup.  Framingham falls to 14-12 with the loss and will await word on a potential ECAC Tournament bid.

Cosby, who connected on 10 of 14 field goal attempts, also added six rebounds and a pair of assists.  With her 22 points, Cosby increased her career total to 1,052 as she moved past Lora O'Connell (1,051 pts.) into tenth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list.

Junior guard Jenna Williamson (Ludlow, Mass.) added 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Bears, while sophomore forward Alana Watkins (Wareham, Mass.) came off the bench to score 14 points in 14 minutes of play.  Junior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points, nine boards, two assists and three steals.

BSU senior guard Elisha Homich (Ludlow, Mass.) tied the program record with 15 assists in addition to eighth points, three rebounds and four steals.  Homich equaled BSU Hall of Famer JoAnn Runge's 28-year old school mark set back on February 6, 1985 against Clark University.

Senior forward Kia Minor (Edgartown, Mass.) paced the visiting Rams with 20 points and five steals, while junior guard Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) added 14 points, five assists, two blocks and two steals.  Sophomore guard Margo McCarthy (Southampton, Mass.) was the only other Ram in double-figure scoring as she finished with 11 points to go along with three board and a pair of steals.

The Bears led 31-25 at the break and used a 13-3 mid-second half run to increase their advantage to 61-41 with 8:33 remaining in the game.  Williamson, who scored 15 of her 17 points in the final stanza, capped off the run with back-to-back three-pointers.   Bridgewater extended the lead to 22 (65-43) on a Homich layup with 6:41 left on the clock.

Framingham, however, would not go quietly as the Rams responded with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to cut the deficit to 67-56 as the clock ticked under three minutes.  After a pair of BSU missed free throws, the Rams had a chance to pull to within under ten points, but Minor was unable to convert a layup.  Boutilette answered with a layup off a nice feed from Cosby at the other end of the floor to push the Bears' advantage back to 13. Framingham would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

Homich recorded her school record-tying assist as she set up a Cosby jumper with just 1:05 remaining which, at the time, gave the Bears a 73-60 lead.

Bridgewater shot 57% (33-58) from the floor and converted 4 of 11 three-pointers (36%) led by Williamson's three trifectas. The Bears held a 34-25 rebounding advantage including a 13-10 edge on the offensive glass.  The hosts, who never trailed after tying the game at 4-4 at the 16:16 mark of the first half, also recorded 26 assists on 33 made field goals.

The Rams connected on 50% (28-56) of their field goal attempts and finished 4-for-12 (33%) from behind the arc.

Notes: The Bears reached the 22-win total for the fifth time in program history and first since the 2007-2008 team went 22-5....The program single-season record is 26 wins (26-2) set back in 1984-85.