Women's Hoops Falls to Gwynedd Mercy, 54-43

GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team dropped a 54-43 decision to host Gwynedd Mercy University in the semifinals of the Gwynedd Mercy Holiday Tournament.

The visiting Bears slip to 5-5 with their fourth straight setback, while the Griffins improve to 4-6.  Bridgewater State will take on Ramapo College in the tournament consolation game on Sunday afternoon at noon, while Gwynedd Mercy will face Trinity College in the championship game at two.

Junior guard Olivia Bradford (Lansdale, Pa.) led the hosts with 13 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals.

Sophomore forward Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) paced the Bears with 17 points, while senior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) notched a double-double with ten points and a career-high matching 17 rebounds.  Boutilette also recorded three blocked shots and three steals.

Despite being held scoreless over the first nine minutes of the first half and to just four points over the first 13 minutes, the Bears managed to trail by just three points (21-18) at the intermission.

Neither team could get untracked offensively as the Bears shot 29% () from the floor in the opening stanza while the Griffins connected on just 27% () of their field goal attempts.  Gwynedd Mercy also struggled mightily at the charity stripe converting on just 4 of 12 (33%) free throw attempts.  The two teams also combined for 21 turnovers.

Boutilette gave the Bears a big lift off the bench in the first half as she scored six of the team's 18 points and corralled 11 rebounds (four offensive) to help the squad battle back from an 11-0 deficit.

The Griffins maintained their lead throughout the second half and used a late 9-0 run to open up an 11-point lead, 48-37, with 2:25 remaining.  The Bears, who never led in the game, would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Gwynedd Mercy shot the ball a little better in the second half converting 11 of 28 (39%) field goal attempts including 2-for-6 from behind the arc.  After struggling at the line in the first half, the Griffins responded with 9-for-11 (82%) shooting at the charity stripe over the final twenty minutes.

For the game, the Griffins turned 23 BSU turnovers into 23 points as they held a decided 23-4 advantage in points off turnovers.  The hosts also limited the Bears to 31% (19-62) shooting including just 1-for-13 (8%) from three-point range.

Notes: With her ten points, Boutilette increased her career scoring output to 981....Boutilette also pulled down 17 boards in a 62-57 win over MCLA on January 25, 2012.