Women's Basketball Falls to Southern Maine in USM Tip-Off Classic Title Game

GORHAM, Maine -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team dropped a 67-49 decision to host University of Southern Maine in the championship game of the USM Tip-Off Classic.

The Huskies outscored the Bears 50-10 in the paint and held the visitors to 29% shooting from the floor including 5-for-23 (22%) from three-point range.

Sophomore forward Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) and senior guard Rachel Kusz (Worcester, Mass.) earned All-Tournament honors for visiting Bridgewater State. Melton scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Kusz tallied nine points on a trio of three-pointers.

Sophomore forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) added ten points, three assists and a steal as the Bears' starters accounted for 45 of the team's 49 points.

Tournament MVP Megan Pelletier paced the Huskies with a game-high 21 points on 10 of 18 shooting. Pelletier added nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal. Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine) chipped in 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals, while Lauren Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) tossed in 11 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Knight and Stephanie Gallagher (York, Maine) joined Pelletier on the all-tournament team.

The Huskies started off the game hot, grabbing an 8-2 lead in the early going with strong defensive pressure resulting in four Bears' turnovers in the opening three minutes.  However, the Bears worked their way back into the game and the first half settled into a close battle.  Kusz pulled the Bears' even, 21-21, with 2:39 to play knocking down a three-pointer off an assist from Lindland.

Southern Maine responded to the BSU push however, closing out the half on an 8-0 run to take a 29-21 lead at the break.  Knight made a strong move in the paint to start the run and was followed by a driving layup from Kayla Stacy (Auburn, N.H.) for a quick four-point swing and a 25-21 USM lead.  The Huskies forced the Bears into one of their 10 first half turnovers in their next possession and Pelletier made one of two free throws for a 26-21 lead with under a minute to go, before Gallagher capped the scoring with a three from the corner for the 29-21 USM advantage.

In the second half, USM maintained a comfortable lead, staying in front of the Bears by eight to 14 points through the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza.  Pelletier put the Huskies up by 14, 45-31, with 12:44 to play, before Bears rallied for an 8-0 run to trail by six with 10:35 remaining. Melton scored six of the Bears' eight points in the run.

With its lead cut to six, USM called a time-out and a back-door layup from Knight off of a strong feed from Rousseau made it 47-39 in favor of the Huskies, and USM outscored the Bears 13-5 over the next five minutes to regain a 14-point advantage, 58-44, with 5:50 remaining. Knight scored seven of her 18 points in the run, while Pelletier added six.  The Huskies' closed out the game outscoring Bridgewater State 9-5 for the 67-49 final.

The Bears (1-1) travel to Elms College on Wednesday night to take on the Blazers at seven.