Women's Basketball Downs Fitchburg State, 85-34

Fitchburg, Mass. -- Junior forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to an 85-34 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over host Fitchburg State University on Wednesday evening at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Bears improve to 4-9 on the season with the win and 1-1 in the MASCAC, while the Falcons fall to 0-14 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Lindland connected on 10 of 12 field goals and also added a career-best nine steals to go along with three rebounds.

Sophomore guard Christine Curran (Ayer, Mass.) tallied a career-high 15 points in just 12 minutes off the bench for the Bears while freshman guard Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.) chipped in 13 points and junior forward Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) added 12. DaSilva and Melton also finished with four rebounds apiece.

Senior forward Erika Schneider (Rockland, Mass.) paced the hosts Falcons with eight points and five rebounds, while junior guard Shabeli Villa (Lawrence, Mass.) also scored eight points to go along with three boards. Senior forward Stephanie Leveillee (Worcester, Mass.) pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.

Bridgewater State scored the first 12 points of the game and held a 27-9 advantage at the end of one period of play. The Bears outscored the Falcons 21-10 in the second quarter to take a 48-19 lead into the intermission.

Lindland led all players with 14 first half points, while Melton tallied 12 and DaSilva added ten. The Bears shot 58% (18-31) over the first 20 minutes and forced 21 turnovers.

BSU opened the third quarter with a 12-1 run and outscored the Falcons 22-5 in the period. The Bears got up by as many as 51 points twice in the fourth quarter including the final score of 85-34.

Bridgewater shot 57% (33-58) from the floor for the game including 7-for-20 (35%) from behind the arc. The Bears also knocked down 12 of 17 (71%) free throw attempts and forced 40 turnovers. 47 of BSU's 85 points came off turnovers.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Saturday afternoon at one. The Bears entertain Salem State University while the Falcons hit the road to take on Worcester State University.

Notes: The last time Bridgewater State won a game by 50 or more points was November 18th of 2005, a 75-25 victory over Medgar Evers College....The last time the Bears won a MASCAC game by 50 or more points was January 7, 2005 when they posted a 78-28 win over MCLA....The program record for greatest margin of victory is 71 points (104-33) against Framingham State on February 20, 1990.