BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- For the fourth time in the past six seasons, Bridgewater State's Bridgett Casey has been selected as the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.  Casey shares this year’s honor along with Worcester State head coach, Karen Tessmer.

Casey guided the Bears to their fourth MASCAC title in the last six years. Bridgewater completed the 2012-2013 regular season with an 11-1 conference record and an overall mark of 21-3.  The Bears, who reached the 20-win plateau for the third time in the Casey era, are the top seed for the MASCAC Tournament and will host fourth-seeded Framingham State in a semifinal round game on Thursday night at seven.

Bridgewater currently ranks sixth in all of Division III with 15.8 steals per game.  The Bears are also 12th in the nation in assists (17.1 apg), 15th in turnover margin (+7.65), 17th in field goal percentage (.434), 20th in scoring offense (73.5 ppg) and 23rd in three-point shooting percentage (.345).

In 16 seasons at Bridgewater State, Casey has compiled a career coaching record of 241-170 (.586) as she is the all-time winningest coach in BSU women's basketball history.  She was also named coach of the year last season as well as in 2007-2008 and 2009-2010.

Under Casey, the Bears have recorded double-digit win totals in all but one of her 16 seasons as head coach. Her teams have averaged 15.1 victories a year during her tenure and have hit the 20-win mark three times (2005-06, 2007-08, 2012-13).  Casey also sports a solid MASCAC record as the Bears are 124-68 (.646) versus conference opponents during the regular season since she took over in 1997.

On three occasions, Casey’s teams have won the MASCAC Tournament championship and advanced to NCAA Division III Tournament play.  The Bears won the tournament crown as the top seed in 2007-2008 and as the number two seed in 2010-2011.  Last season, as the number one seed, Bridgewater defeated Worcester State in the semifinals, 74-59, and downed MCLA, 76-66, in the title game.

Three BSU women's basketball players garnered all-conference honors this season under the guidance of Coach Casey. Senior guard Michaela Cosby (Walpole, Mass.) and Elisha Homich (Ludlow, Mass.) were both selected to the All-MASCAC First Team while junior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) was named to the second team.