Women's Basketball Falls to Hamilton, 74-68, at Music City Classic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team dropped a 74-68 decision to Hamilton College on Sunday evening at the Music City Classic in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Bears fall to 2-8 on the season with the setback, while the Continentals improve to 9-1 with their fifth straight win.

Junior forward Kayla Glemaud (Middletown, Conn.) tallied 17 points on 8 of 11 shooting to lead the way for Hamilton, while sophomore guard Kelcie Zarle (Wellesley Hills, Mass.) checked in with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Freshman guard Kylee Piché (Bridgewater, Mass.) scored a career-high 21 points to pace Bridgewater State. Junior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) added eight points, two steals, two blocked shots and a game-high 14 rebounds (five offensive) for the Bears, while senior guard Nicole Bostick (East Taunton, Mass.) notched ten points, five board and two assists.

Sophomore guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) finished with eight points for Bridgewater State as she converted all three of her field goal attempts including a pair of three-pointers. Sophomore guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) notched seven points, eight rebounds (three offensive) and three assists.

The Bears led 17-15 after the first quarter, but scored just three points over the first five minutes of the second period as Hamilton turned the two-point deficit into a 27-20 lead. A three-pointer by Hannah Dziadyk followed by back-to-back layups from Olivia Dziadyk and freshman forward Nina Morrison (Raynham, Mass.) knotted the score at 27-27 with 3 ½ minutes remaining until halftime. Hamilton then closed out the first half with a 11-1 run to take a 38-28 lead into the break. Five different Continentals scored during the spurt.

A three-pointer by Zarle to open the third quarter scoring gave Hamilton its biggest lead of the game at 13 points (41-28). Trailing by eight (50-42) later in the quarter, the Bears reeled off seven straight points to cut the deficit to 50-49 with two minutes remaining in the period. Freshman guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) tallied five points during the run including a three-pointer. A traditional three-point play by Glemaud with 11 seconds showing on the third-quarter scoreboard gave the Continentals a four-point lead (55-51) heading into the final period.

An 11-3 run midway through the fourth quarter turned a two-point game (57-55) into a 68-58 Hamilton advantage. The run featured points from five different Continentals including a trifecta by sophomore forward Claire Sehring (Sauquoit, N.Y.). The Bears answered with five straight points on three free throws from Piché and two by Bostick to cut the deficit to 68-63 with 1:13 left to play, but Zarle knocked down a key jumper with a minute showing on the scoreboard to push the Hamilton lead back to seven (70-63) as the continentals would hang on for the victory.

The Continentals shot 39% (29-75) from the floor for the game, including 6-for-15 (40%) from behind the arc, and went just 10-for-19 (52%) at the free throw line. The Bears connected on just 33% (24-72) of their field goal attempts, and finished 8-for-20 (40%) from three-point range and 12-for-14 (86%) at the charity stripe.

In upcoming action, the Bears take on Nazareth College at the Music City Classic on Monday afternoon at four.