Women's Basketball Falls to Salisbury, 66-63, in NCAA Tournament

SALISBURY, Md. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team dropped a 66-63 decision to 11th ranked Salisbury University in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday night at the Maggs Center.

Senior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) led all players with a season-high 26 points on 11 of 17 shooting. Boutilette recorded her ninth double-double of the season as she also pulled down 11 rebounds to go along with four steals and a pair of assists.

Senior guard Amanda Hacket (Germantown, Md.) paced the host Gulls with 21 points and a game-high eight assists.  Classmate Sarah Seipp (Gaithersburg, Md.) chipped in with 18 points and four steals, while sophomore guard Lauren Rothfeld (Dresher, Pa.) added ten points off the bench.

Boutiletter tallied 17 points in the first half as the Bears took a 35-23 lead into the break. The lead would get as high as 15 points on two occasions in the final stanza.

With Boutilette on the bench with foul trouble in the second half, the Bears watched a 14-point lead (48-34) evaporate.  The Gulls outscored the Bears 22-7 with Boutilette out of the game.

A lay-up by Hacket tied the game at 55-55.  Moments later, following a BSU turnover, Seipp made 1 of 2 free throws to put the Gulls on top for the first time in the game, 56-55, with 5:19 left to play.

Back-to-back lay-ups by Boutilette put the Bears back out in front, 59-56 with 4:20 remaining.

Bridgewater, however, would score just one point over the next four minutes as the Bears went 0-for-7 from the floor and 1-for-4 at the line during that stretch. Two of the missed free throws were on the front end of one-on-one opportunities.

A layu-up by Hacket at the 2:25 mark put the Gulls up, 61-60.  Senior forward Melanie Mocniak (Annapolis, Md.) followed with a jumper and Hacket knocked down another jumper to extend the lead to 65-60.

A three-pointer by senior guard Rachel Kusz (Worcester, Mass.) with just 15 seconds remaining ended the Bears' scoring drought and cut the deficit to 65-63.

Seipp made 1 of 2 free throws at the other end of the floor to make it a three-point game, 66-63, with nine seconds showing on the scoreboard.

Out of a timeout, the Bears had a chance at a long, straight-away three-point attempt but the shot at the buzzer was off the mark as the Gulls hung on for the win.

After shooting a sizzling 58% (14-24) from the floor in the first half, the Bears connected on just 10 of 30 (33%) field goal attempts in the final twenty minutes.

It was also a tale of two halfs for the host Gulls who made half their field goal attempts (14-28) in the second half after converting just 8 of 26 (31%) in the opening frame.

Ultimatley, the deciding factor in the game came at the free throw line. Salisbury made 28 trips to the charity stripe and converted 19.  Bridgewater was just 11-for-17 at the stripe.

Kusz finished with nine points for the visitors on 3 of 7 shooting from hehind the arc. Senior guard Melissa Daigle (Rockland, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and two steals, while sophomore forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) tallied eight points, five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in 18 minutes off the bench.

Bridgewater State ends the season with an overall record of 16-11. The Bears were making their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Salisbury (26-2) will host Richard Stockton College in a second-round game on Saturday evening at six.  Stockton defeated McDaniel College, 68-49, in the other first round match-up held this evening at the Maggs Center. 

Notes: Boutilette ends her career as the Bears all-time leader in rebounds (910), steals (342), field goal percentage (.536) and games played (111)....She became the first player in program history to reach the 900-rebound milestone and just the fifth player in program history to score over 1,200 points (1,202 pts.)....Kusz finished the season with a school single-season record 65 three-pointers.