Lindland, Page Lead Women's Basketball to 77-65 Win over Fitchburg State

FITCHBURG, Mass. -- Senior forward Jennie Lindland and junior forward Rhiana Page tallied 16 points apiece to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 77-65 win over Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Bears improve to 10-11 on the season and 5-3 in the MASCAC, while the host Falcons fall to 9-11 overall and 1-7 in conference play. The win marked the 298th career coaching victory for BSU head coach Bridgett Casey.

Lindland connected on 8 of 13 field goal attempts and added five rebounds, four steals and a pair of blocked shots. Page went 6-for-11 from the floor and contributed six boards, two assists, two steals and a block.

Senior guard Stephanie DeSantis added 14 points for the Bears on 6 of 9 shooting to go along with five rebounds, two steals and a block.

Fitchburg State freshman Kyra Rose finished just two rebounds and an assist shy of a triple-double as she recorded game-high totals of 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Sophomore center Amy Connolly added 15 points and eight boards in 28 minutes off the bench.

Trailing 17-13 at the end of one, the Bears outscored the Falcons 24-7 in the second quarter to take a 37-24 lead into the intermission. Page, DeSantis, and senior guard Chelsea Saucier combined for 20 of BSU's 24 points in the period.

Saucier finished with nine points and a team-best eight assists.

Bridgewater got up by as many as 18 points (53-35) in the second half and held a 72-55 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Fitchburg used an 8-0 run capped off by a pair of Rose free throws to make it a nine-point game (72-63) with 1:47 showing on the scoreboard.

After a missed three-pointer, Page came up with a big offensive rebound and junior guard Jennifer Whyte made 1 of 2 at the line to get the Bears' lead back to double digits (73-63) with just 69 seconds left to play.

Following back-to-back turnovers, Rose dropped in a layup with 28 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to eight, 73-65. Lindland, however, answered with a layup and added a short jumper in the waning seconds to put the finishing touches on the Bears' 77-65 victory.

The Falcons shot 43% (26-61) from the field while converting just 6-of-12 (50%) from the free-throw line. The Bears were 32-for-67 (48%) from the floor shooting with 9-of-15 (60%) from the stripe.

Fitchburg State finished with a slight 39-37 rebounding advantage, while Bridgewater State finished held a 30-17 edge in points off turnovers.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Wednesday evening at 7:30. The Bears host Salem State University, while the Falcons entertain Worcester State University.