Women's Basketball Cruises to 74-63 Win Over Salem State on Senior Night

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team cruised to a 74-63 victory over Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe Salem State University on Senior Night at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears, who sewed up the #2 seed and a first round bye in next week's MASCAC Tournament, wrapped up regular season play with an overall record of 14-10 including an 8-4 mark in the MASCAC.  The Vikings slip to 4-19 overall and 2-9 in conference play.

Senior guard Rachel Kusz (Worcester, Mass.) paced BSU with a career-high 25 points as she was 9-for-16 from the floor including 6-for-12 from three-point range.

Senior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) notched her eighth double-double of the season and also set the Bears' all-time mark for steals.  Boutilette tallied 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting and pulled down 12 rebounds including six off the offensive glass. She also added three assists, a blocked shot and a game-high seven steals.  Boutilette now has 329 steals in her career as she surpassed BSU Hall of Famer JoAnn Runge's (1983-87) previous school mark of 326.

Junior guard Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass.) chipped in with 18 on 7 of 10 shooting.  Conceicao went 3-for-6 from behind the arc and also finished with six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Bears scored the first 12 points of the game and held the Vikings scoreless for over eight minutes.  Bridgewater increased its advantage to as many as 18 points (36-18) later in the stanza before heading to the locker room with a 36-21 lead. Conceicao led all first half scorers with 12 points, while Boutilette and Kusz added eight apiece.  Senior guard Rachael Carter (Merrimack, N.H.) paced the Vikings with seven points in the opening twenty minutes.

Bridgewater State continued to dominate play in the second half and the Bears' lead ballooned to as many as 30 points on two occasion in the stanza including a 66-36 advantage with 7:56 remaining.

Carter led the visiting Vikings with a game-high 25 points to go along with 13 rebounds, three assists and four steals. Seventeen of her 25 points came in the final 7 ½ minutes of the contest.

Freshman guard Gabriela Ferraro (Douglas, Mass.) and freshman forward Savanah Spinney (Everett, Mass.) chipped in with 11 and ten points, respectively, for the visitors.

Bridgewater State shot 46% for the game including a 10-for-25 (40%) clip from three-point territory.  Salem State connected on 38% (26-68) of its field goal attempts and went just 3-for-15 (20%) from long distance.

Prior to the game, seniors Boutilette, Kusz, Melissa Daigle (Rockland, Mass.) and Jillian Sedlier (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) were honored.

The Bears have a first round bye in next week's MASCAC Tournament and will host a semifinal round game on Thursday versus an opponent to be determined.  The Vikings travel to Babson College on Thursday night (7:00) and then close out the regular season at home against MCLA on Saturday afternoon (1:00).