Fitzgerald Leads Women's Basketball to 79-60 Win over Salem State

SALEM, Mass. – Junior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) posted a double-double with 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 79-60 victory over Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Salem State University on Tuesday evening at Twohig Gymnasium.

The Bears improve to 6-9 on the season and 2-0 in the MASCAC with their fourth consecutive win, while the Vikings fall to 3-10 overall and 0-2 in conference play with their fifth straight setback.

Fitzgerald connected on 8 of 16 field goal attempts and seven of her 16 boards came off the offensive glass. She also added a season-high four blocked shots.

Freshman guard Kylee Piché (Bridgewater, Mass.) checked in with 11 points for the Bears on 5 of 8 shooting, while sophomore guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) tallied ten points.

The BSU bench, led by freshman guard Jordyn Lako (Attleboro, Mass.) and sophomore guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.), outscored the Salem reserves by a decided margin of 35-8. Lako notched ten points on 4 of 6 shooting to go along with five rebounds and a pair of steals in 12 minutes off the bench, while Dziadyk contributed eight points and a career-best nine board in 20 minutes.

Freshman forward Liz Zaiter (Peabody, Mass.) paced Salem State with 15 points and eight rebounds (five offensive). Freshman guard Hannah Cravedi (Templeton, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and a game-best five steals for the Vikings, while sophomore forward Nicole Freddo (Marblehead, Mass.) tallied ten points, nine boards, two assists and three steals.

Bridgewater State opened the game with an 8-0 run as the Vikings 2-15 (13.3%) struggled from the field in the first quarter. Fitzgerald did most of her damage in the paint, scoring 11 points in the quarter as the Bears built a 22-12 lead.

Lako spearheaded the BSU offense in the second period as multiple Salem State turnovers helped the Bears to easy transition layups. With 1:52 remaining before halftime, Hannah Dziadyk's layup gave Bridgewater State its largest lead of the half at 41-20. The Bears would take a 41-23 lead into the break.

Fitzgerald finished the half with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting with six rebounds. The Bears shot 18-39 (46.2%) from the floor while the Vikings went 5-29 (17.2%) from the field. Zaiter led Salem State with nine first half points.

The Vikings continued to struggle from the field, connecting on just two of their first eight shots of the third quarter as the Bears kept the margin near 20 points. A Hannah Dziadyk trifecta gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 59-35, with 1:17 left in the session.

Olivia Dziadyk paced the Bears with seven fourth quarter points as Bridgewater State remained comfortably in front. Senior forward Mia Crawley (Hyannis, Mass.) scored eight of her nine points for Salem State in the final period, but the deficit was too large as the Bears won going away, 79-60.

Bridgewater State shot 43% (32-74) for the game and went 5-for-21 (24%) from behind the arc and 10-for-18 (56%) at the free throw line. The Bears' defensive effort held the Vikings to just 25% (16-64) shooting including 1-for-11 (9%). Salem State did, however, spend a lot of time at the free throw line as the hosts went 27-for-37 (73%) at the stripe.

The Bears dominated the inside game outscoring the Vikings 52-22 in the paint.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams. The Vikings travel to MCLA on Thursday evening for a 5:30 game with the Trailblazers, while the Bears host the Owls of Westfield State University on Saturday afternoon at one.