Women's Hoops Advances to MASCAC Semifinals as Casey Notches Win #300

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) posted a double-double with a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead #4 seed Bridgewater State University to a 71-60 victory over #5 Salem State University in the opening round of the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The win marked the 300th in the illustrious coaching career of Bridgewater State Head Coach Bridgett Casey. The all-time winningest coach in team history, Casey has produced a record of 300-220 (.577) in her 20 seasons at the helm.

The host Bears (12-14) advance to the MASCAC Tournament semifinal round and will travel to top-seeded Westfield State University on Thursday night to take on the Owls. Game time is slated for 7:00 PM. The Vikings end the season with an overall record of 11-15.

Lindland connected on 10 of 15 field goal attempts and seven of her game-high 13 rebounds came off the offensive boards. She also recorded three steals.

Junior guard Jennifer Whyte (Braintree, Mass.) checked in with 17 points in 18 minutes off the bench for the Bears. Whyte knocked down 5 of 11 three-point attempts and 14 of her 17 points came in the second half. Junior forward Rhiana Page (Brookline, Mass.) added ten points and seven rebounds.

Junior forward Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) poured in a game-best 30 points to go along with nine rebounds for the visiting Vikings. Waggett went 13-for-18 from the floor. Senior guard Kaitlyn Bryan (Lowell, Mass.) contributed 11 points and five boards, while freshman guardBrianna Rodriguez (Salem, Mass.) added ten points, three assists and three steals.

Bridgewater led 21-11 after one quarter of play as the Bears forced eight turnovers in the opening period. Lindland scored 12 of BSU's 21 points in the session while Waggett scored all 11 points for Salem. The Bears trailed 10-5 midway through the period, but closed it out with a 16-1 run.

Salem recorded the first five points of the second quarter and held the Bears scoreless for over 4 ½ minutes. Late in the period, the Vikings pulled to within four (29-25) on a breakaway layup by Rodriguez with just 29 seconds remaining. However, a driving layup by BSU senior guard Chelsea Saucier (Portland, Maine) in the final seconds closed out the scoring and gave the Bears a 31-25 lead at the break.

Waggett led all players with 19 first-half points on 9 of 14 shooting. Lindland paced Bridgewater with 13 points and eight boards over the first 20 minutes.

The Vikings outscored the Bears 18-14 in the third quarter to close the gap to two at 45-43. The surge continued into the final period and Waggett eventually knotted the score at 48-48 with a short baseline jumper with 6:50 left to play.

A Whyte trifecta followed by a DaSilva floater in the paint put the Bears back up by five, but Bryan answered with a three-pointer to make it a two-point game (53-51) with 5:41 showing on the scoreboard.

From there it was all Bridgewater State. A 15-2 run over the next four minutes secured the win for the Bears. Six points by Lindland and a pair of three-pointers by Whyte and one from DaSilva accounted for all 15 points as Bridgewater held a commanding 68-53 lead with just 85 seconds remaining.

After shooting just 32% (16-50) over the first three quarters, the Bears shot a scorching 62% (10-16) in the final period including 5-for-6 (83%) from behind the arc.

The BSU defense forced 21 turnovers in the game which led to a 23-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Rebounds were even at 38 apiece, but the Bears held a 13-7 edge on the offensive glass which accounted for 13-1 difference in second chance points.

Saucier recorded seven of the Bears' 13 assists on the night. She also pulled down four rebounds. Fellow senior guard Stephanie DeSantis (Walpole, Mass.) grabbed seven boards (two offensive) to go along with three steals and a blocked shot.