Grassi Leads Women's Basketball to 70-64 MASCAC Win Over Worcester State

WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshman guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) scored a career-high 26 points to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 70-64 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Worcester State University on Saturday afternoon at Brissette Court.

The Bears, who snapped a four-game losing streak against the Lancers, improve to 13-7 on the season and 5-2 in the MASCAC. Worcester falls to 9-10 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Grassi went 8-for-14 from the floor and 10-for-15 from the free throw line. She also added five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Senior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) checked in with 14 points, six rebounds and a steal in 20 minutes off the bench for the Bears, while freshman forward Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) notched nine points and a team-high ten rebounds to go along with a pair of steals.

Freshman forward Abby St. Martin (Putnam, Conn.) paced Worcester State with 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench. Martin also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out a pair of assists and recorded two steals.  Junior guard Elizabeth Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) tallied 18 points and six rebounds (five offensive) for the Lancers, while senior forward Gigi LeMay (Grafton, Mass.) finished with ten points and a game-high 23 rebounds (eight offensive) as well as four assists and two steals.

Bridgewater led 32-20 at the break. The Bears closed out the second quarter with a 10-1 run as Grassi and senior guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) each went 3-for-4 from the free throw line during the spurt. Bridgewater shot 39% (9-23) from the floor in the first half and went 13-for-18 (72%) from the line. The BSU defense limited Worcester to just 20% (7-35) shooting over the first two periods. Grassi led all players with 14 first-half points as she went 10-for-12 from the stripe. LeMay scored all ten of her points over the first 20 minutes for the Lancers.

After being held to just 20 points in the first half, Worcester State bounced back with a 22-point third quarter. A three-pointer by BSU junior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) gave the Bears their biggest lead of the game at 16 points (37-21). Trailing by 14 (48-34), the Lancers closed out the period with an 8-0 run to make it a six-point game (48-42) at the end of three. St. Martin and sophomore guard Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, Mass.) tallied four points apiece during the run.

Worcester carried the momentum into the final quarter and knotted the scored at 52-52 on a pair of Gallella free throws with six minutes left to play. Neither team led by more than two points over the next five minutes. Cleveland made 1 of 2 free throws with 56 seconds showing on the scoreboard to give the Bears a 65-64 lead. The Lancers then turned the ball over on each of their next three possession and the visitors took advantage. A layup by Fitzgerald and a pair of free throws from Bradbury extended the BSU lead to 69-64. Freshman center Jannise Avelino (Peabody, Mass.) tacked on a free throw with 14 seconds left to play to put the finishing touches on the 70-64 victory.

The Bears shot 39% (24-61) for the game and finished 20-for-35 (57%) from the free throw line. The Lancers connected on 28% (20-71) of their field goal attempts and went 24-for-34 (71%) from the stripe. The two teams combined for just two three-pointers in the contest with the Lancers going 0-for-13 from behind the arc.

In upcoming MASCAC action, the Bears travel to MCLA on Monday (Feb. 7) for a 5:30 game with the Trailblazers, while the Lancers entertain the Owls of Westfield State University on Wednesday (Feb. 9) also at 5:30.