Women's Basketball Downs Worcester State for Sixth Straight Win

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) scored 17 points and junior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) added 16 to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to an 84-74 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Worcester State University on Monday evening in the Bears' annual Play4Kay Breast Cancer Awareness game at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve 16-7 on the season with their sixth straight win and 8-2 in the MASCAC while the Lancers fall to 10-12 overall and 5-5 in conference play. Bridgewater swept the season series as the Bears also posted a 70-64 win over the Lancers back on February 5th out in Worcester.

Fitzgerald connected on 8 of 16 field goal attempts and pulled down six rebounds, Bradbury added three rebounds, a game-high eight assists and three steals.

Freshman guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) checked in with 12 points, four rebounds, an assist and three steals, while sophomore guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) notched ten points, eight rebounds, six assists and a blocked shot. Freshman center Jannise Avelino (Peabody, Mass.) rounded out the Bears' double-digit point producers with 12 points in 21 minute off the bench to go along with eight rebounds, a steal and a block.

Senior forward Gigi LeMay (Grafton, Mass.) posted a double-double with game-high totals of 28 points and ten rebounds to lead the way for Worcester State. LeMay went 13-for-19 from the floor and added five assists and three steals before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

Junior guard Elizabeth Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) contributed 14 points and five boards for the Lancers, while sophomore guard Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, Mass.) tallied 14 points, two rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

The Bears got up by as many ten points (21-11) over the first 20 minutes and held a 38-32 lead at the break. Bridgewater shot 38% in the first half and went just 3-for-7 at the free throw line. The Bears did, however, connect on 3 of 5 three-point field goal attempts. The Lancers shot 39% (12-31) over the first two period and went 6-for-7 at the charity stripe. Fitzgerald led all players with 13 first-half points, while LeMay, who got into foul trouble, paced the Lancers with ten.

After an evenly played third quarter, the Bears extended the lead back into double digits (69-57) following a traditional three-point play by Tripp with 7:23 left to play. The Lancers would close to within seven points on three separated occasions over the final seven minutes and trailed 81-74 following a LeMay layup with 1:32 remaining. Worcester would not score again, however, as the Bears went 3-for-4 from the foul line over the final 80 seconds to close out the game.

The Bears finished with a 48-38 rebounding advantage for the game including an 18-8 edge on the offensive glass. Bridgewater shot 42% (32-77) for the game and finished 5-for-8 (63%) from behind the arc and 15-for-24 (63%) at the free throw line.

Worcester shot 46% (31-68) for the game, including 61% (11-18) in the third quarter. The Lancers knocked down 10 of 11 (91%) free throw attempts, but went just 2-for-14 (14%) from behind the arc.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Wednesday evening. The Bears travel to Fitchburg State University for a five o'clock game with the Falcons, while the Lancers head to MCLA to take on the Trailblazers at 5:30.