Dziadyk, Fitzgerald Lead Women's Hoops to 73-62 Win over Dean

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) scored a career-high 24 points and junior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) notched a double-double with a season-high 21 points and a career-best 12 rebounds to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 73-62 victory over Dean College on Thursday evening at Pieri Gymnasium.

Bridgewater State improves to 2-4 on the season while Dean falls to 2-5. The Bears are now 2-0 all-time versus the Bulldogs as the two teams met for the first time just last season.

Dziadyk connected on 8 of 16 field goal attempts including a career-high seven three-pointers. She also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals in 29 minutes off the bench.

Fitzgerald finished 10-for-15 from the floor in 28 minutes off the bench and five of her 12 boards came off the offensive glass. Fitzgerald also added two steals and three blocked shots.

Freshman forward Alexah Potter (East Hartford, Conn.) posted a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 18 rebounds (eight offensive) to go along with five blocked shots to pace the hosts.

Bridgewater trailed 15-5 5 ½ minutes into the game, but rallied to take a 39-31 lead at the break. The Bears, who outscored the Bulldogs 21-10 in the second quarter, forced 21 turnovers over the first 20 minutes and transitioned those 21 miscues into 16 points.

Dziadyk led all players with 12 first-half points, while sophomore guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) notched ten points over the first two periods. The duo combined to connect on 6 of 12 three-pointers in the first half.

Bridgewater pushed the lead up to double-digits, 54-44, after a fairly evenly played third quarter. Dean pulled to within two, 58-56, following a Potter layup midway through the final period and trailed 62-58 with 2:50 showing on the scoreboard. The Bears then reeled off seven straight point capped off by a Hannah Dziadyk traditional three-point play to put the game out of reach.

The Bears shot 38% (22-71) for the game and finished 9-for-26 (35%) from behind the arc. The Bulldogs connected on 41% (23-56) of their field goal attempts, but went just 2-for-14 (14%) from three-point range.

The two teams combined for 76 turnovers with the Bears forcing 45 miscues.

The BSU bench outscored the Dean reserves, 48-4, led by Hannah Dziadyk and Fitzgerald.

In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Emerson College on Saturday for a noontime game with the Lions.