Women's Basketball Holds Off Salem State, 65-62

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team held off visiting Salem State University, 65-62, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Wednesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 11-7 on the season and 3-2 in the MASCAC while the Vikings fall to 3-14 overall and 1-5 in conference play. Bridgewater has won eight of the last nine meetings of the two teams and 14 of the last 16.

Four players scored in double figures for the Bears led by a career-high 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench for freshman forward Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.). Cleveland also added five rebounds and a pair of steals.

Senior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) recorded her 15th career double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds (four offensive) in 22 minutes off the bench to go along with a game-high four blocked shots. Junior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) checked in with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while freshman guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) notched 11 points and four boards.

Junior forward Liz Zaiter (Peabody, Mass.) paced Salem State with game high totals of 23 points and 20 rebounds (seven offensive). Zaiter also dished out three assists. Senior guard Julia Mattera (Arlington, Mass.) added ten points, six rebounds and a pair of assists for the Vikings.

Bridgewater State led 35-31 after 20 minutes of play. The Bears used an 11-2 run in the second quarter, highlighted by seven points from Fitzgerald, to erase a 26-21 deficit.

Bridgewater shot 50% (15-30) from the floor in the first half and held a decided 24-12 edge in points in the paint. The Vikings connected on just 31% (11-36) of their field goal attempts over the first two quarters, but turned a 7-2 advantage in offensive rebounds to a 7-2 edge in second chance points.

Zaiter led all players with 13 first-half points, while Fitzgerald and Bradbury paced the Bears with 11 points apiece.

The Bears scored the first six points of the third quarter and took a ten-point lead (41-31) following a Bradbury layup. Trailing 47-39 with five minutes remaining in the period, the Vikings used a 10-2 run to knot the score at 49-apiece. Zaiter tallied six points during the spurt while sophomore guard Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) capped it off with a layup.

The fourth quarter was close throughout. After senior forward Irianis Delgado (Lynn, Mass.) dropped in a layup with 5:18 left to play, the Bears' defense held the Vikings scoreless for over four minutes. A key three-point play by Cleveland gave the Bears a 63-59 lead and Grassi made 1 of 2 free throws at the 3:09 mark to make it a five-point game (64-59). The score remained that way until Delgado converted a layup with 47 seconds remaining to pull the visitors to within three. The Vikings got a key stop, but had to settle for a pair of free throw attempts with just seven seconds showing on the scoreboard. Delgado knocked down the first free throw and missed the second, but the visitors were unable to corral the rebound. Cleveland made 1 of 2 from the line at the other end of the floor to give the Bears a 65-62 lead. Out of a timeout with four seconds left to play, Gates' three-point attempt at the buzzer was well off the mark as Bridgewater hung on for the victory.

The Bears shot 42% (8-19) from the floor in the third quarter, while the Vikings connected on 47% (9-19) of their field goal attempts. The fourth quarter was a different story altogether as the two teams combined for just seven baskets on 42 field goal attempts.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow night at Salem State with tip-off slated for six o'clock.