Homich's 19 Points Leads Women's Hoops Past Suffolk, 75-61

BRIDGEWATER,  Mass. – Senior guard Elisha Homich (Ludlow, Mass.) scored a team-best 19 points to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 75-61 victory over visiting Suffolk University on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center.

The host Bears improve to 9-9 on the season with the non-conference victory, while the Rams slip to 9-6.

Homich connected on 4 of 7 three-point field goals and added five rebounds, four assists, five steals and a career-high five blocked shots.  Senior guard Jenna Williamson (Ludlow, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points, four rebounds, five assists and six steals, while classmate Colleen Hanscom (Melrose, Mass.) finished with 14 points and five boards.

Senior forward Jennifer Ruys (Wallingford, Conn.) paced the Rams with 22 points on 11 of 19 shooting.  Ruys recorded a double-double as she also pulled down a game-high ten rebounds.  Junior guard Shelby Santini (Winchester, Mass.) added 12 points, five assists and two steals for Suffolk, while junior guard Iliana Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) notched ten points, four boards and three assists.

Leading by one (15-14) with under ten minutes remaining in the first half, the Bears outscored the Rams, 18-5, over the next six minutes to open up a double-digit advantage (33-19). Sophomore guard Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass.) ignited the surge as she drained a trio of three-pointers during the run.

Suffolk used a quick 6-0 spurt to climb to within eight (33-25), but the Bears closed out the stanza with seven straight points on a three-pointer by Hanscom and back-to-back breakaway layups off turnovers by Hanscom and Williamson.

Conceicao led the Bears with nine first-half points, while Williamson and Homich notched eight points apiece and Hanscom added seven over the first twenty minutes.  Ruys paced the Rams with 14 points in the opening stanza.

The Bears would take their biggest lead of the game at the 13:44 mark of the second half on a Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) layup. Bridgewater would continue to maintain a comfortable advantage and led by 16 (60-44) as the clock ticked under ten minutes.

Suffolk would dominate play over the next seven minutes holding the Bears to just two points and forcing five turnovers during that stretch.  An 11-2 run by the Rams, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by Quadri and two long jumpers from Ruys, would cut the deficit to seven, 62-55, with 4:41 remaining.  Suffolk had two chances to pull even closer but turned the ball over and missed a jumper out of a timeout.

Following the missed jumper, Hanscom missed a running layup but got her own rebound.  Williamson then drained a big three-pointer to make it a ten-point game (65-55) with two and a half minutes left to play.  Bridgewater would hang on to the double-digit advantage the rest of the way as the Bears went a perfect 6-for-6 from the line in the final minute.

Bridgewater shot 46% (29-63) from the floor and 45% (9-20) from behind the arc.  The Bears also made all eight of their free throw attempts, forced 22 turnovers and held a 39-13 advantage in points off turnovers as well as a 32-12 edge in points off the bench.

Suffolk shot 43% (25-58) from the floor and 3-for-9 (33%) from three-point range.  The Rams struggled at the charity stripe converting just 8 of 14 (57%) free throw attempts.

Both teams are back in action on Thursday evening.  Bridgewater entertains Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Fitchburg State University at 5:30, while Suffolk hosts non-conference foe Worcester State University at seven.

Notes: With her 19 points, Homich increased her career scoring total to 944….Williamson now has 1,200 career points which is good for fourth all-time at BSU. Laurie Berryman (1992-1996) is the Bears' all-time scoring leader with 1,265 points.