Women's Basketball Advances to MASCAC Title Game

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Second-seeded Bridgewater State University posted a 59-45 victory over #3 Worcester State University in the semifinal round of the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday evening at the Tinsley Center.

With the win, the Bears (15-10) advance to the MASCAC Tournament Championship Game for the fifth straight year and sixth time in the last eight years.  BSU will travel to top-seeded Westfield State University on Saturday to take on the Owls at noon.  Westfield State earned a 79-65 win over #4 Framingham State University in the other semifinal match-up.

Worcester State wraps up the season with an overall mark of 17-10.

BSU senior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) led all scorers with 15 points.  Boutilette also filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots and five steals.

Senior guard Rachel Kusz (Worcester, Mass.) added 12 points for the Bears on 4 of 8 shooting from three-point range, while junior guard Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points, four steals and a game-high seven assists.

Senior guard Julie Frankian (Millbury, Mass.) paced the visiting Lancers with 12 points, while senior guard Kelli McPherson (Mansfield, Mass.) added nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc.  Junior forward Bianca Langford (Worcester, Mass.) pulled down a game-high 22 rebounds including eight off the offensive glass.

Both teams struggled with their shooting in a low-scoring first half as they combined to make just 14 field goals.  The Bears connected on 9 of 28 (32%) field goal attempts, while the Lancer went 5-for-18 (28%) from the floor.  Worcester State also turned the ball over 17 times due to an intense BSU defensive pressure. Fifteen of the Lancers' 17 turnovers were a result of Bridgewater State steals.

The Bears led by as many as seven points on two occasions in the stanza including a 17-10 advantage with 2:20 remaining. However, Langford hit a short jumper for the Lancers followed by a wide-open three-pointer by McPherson to cut the deficit to two (17-15) as the clocked ticked under a minute.  Following a BSU turnover, the visitors had a chance to take the lead, but a three-pointer was off the mark. Kusz then drained a trifecta with just five seconds on the clock to give the Bears a 20-15 lead at the intermission.

Boutilette and Kusz notched six points apiece in the first half, while Langford led Worcester State with five.

Bridgewater State used a 7-1 run at the start of the second half to open up a double-digit advantage, 27-16. The Bears got up by as many as 15 points (45-30), before the Lancers battled back to cut the deficit to single digits.  A 10-3 run highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by Frankian and McPherson pulled the visitors to within 48-40 with under six minutes left to play.

Out of a timeout, Kusz nailed a clutch three-pointer to push the Bears' lead up to 11, 51-40, with 5:36 remaining. The margin would not fall below double-digits the rest of the way.

BSU shot 52% from the floor in the second half and converted 8 of 10 (80%) free throw attempts. The Bears finished with 19 steals in the contest and limited the Lancers to 29.6% (16-54) shooting.

Kusz tied the Bears' single-season record for three-pointers with her 58th of the season. Corey Cuddihy originally set the mark back in 2008-2009, and it was equaled by Jenna Williamson last season.

With her 15 points, Boutilette moved past BSU Hall of Famer Cathy Baker (1,152 pts.) into sixth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list as she now has 1,160 in her career. Boutilette also tied Williamson's program record for games played with 109.