Women's Basketball Captures MASCAC Title, Advances to NCAA Tournament

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State University erased a 23-point second half deficit as the top-seeded Bears edged #3 Westfield State University in the championship game of the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

Junior guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) earned tournament MVP honors. Tripp came off the bench to notch 13 points, seven rebounds, a game-high four assists and a steal in 29 minutes of action.

With the win, the Bears (21-6) advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 11th time in program history and first since 2015. Bridgewater has captured seven MASCAC Tournament titles including five straight from 2011 to 2015. The NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament Selection Show will air Monday, February 27th at 2:30 PM ET on NCAA.com.

The Owls end the season with an overall record of 18-10.

Sophomore forward Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) added 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot for the Bears who also received 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal from senior guard Sydney Bradbury (Bridgewater, Mass.) as well as nine points, nine rebounds (five offensive), an assist, two steals and a block from senior forward Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.). Sophomore center Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds (five offensive) and blocked three shots.

Junior forward Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) paced Westfield State with 17 points, seven rebounds (five offensive), two assists, two steals and three blocks. Junior Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) checked in with 12 points, three rebounds, an assist and two steals for the Owls.

The Owls scored the first nine points of the game and held a decided edge in play throughout the first 20 minutes of the contest. Westfield got up by as many as 21 points (39-18) in the first half and took a 39-20 into the break.

The Westfield defense forced 13 turnovers over the first two quarters and held the Bears to 26.7% (8-30) shooting including just 1-for-14 (7.1%) from behind the arc. The Owls shot 39.5 (15-39) in the first half with a 6-for-17 (35.3%) clip from three-point range.

Sophomore guard Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) led all players with nine first-half points as she knocked down trio of three-pointers, while Grant added eight.

The Bears turned the tables in the third quarter. After the Owls scored the first four points of the period, Bridgewater dominated the rest of the session outscoring the Owls 23-1 over the final 8 ½ minutes to make it a one-point game (44-43) heading into the final quarter. Bradbury scored ten of her 12 points in the quarter on the strength of a pair of three-pointers. The BSU defense forced six turnovers in the session and held the Owls to 2-for-14 shooting (14.3%).

The fourth quarter featured two ties and three lead changes over the first six minutes. A pair of Grassi free throws with four minutes left to play have the hosts a 52-50 lead. After a stop, Tripp drove to hoop for a layup to make it a four-point game. After Grant made 1 of 2 free throws, junior guard Kayla Thomas (Falmouth, Mass.) dropped in a layup off a nice feed from Tripp to extend the BSU advantage to 56-51 with 2:41 showing on the scoreboard. Following an exchange of possessions, freshman Octaviana Williams (Springfield, Mass.) converted 1 of 2 at the line to pull the Owls to within four, but Grassi answered with a layup to give the Bears their biggest lead of the game at six points (58-52) with just under two minutes.

A traditional three-point play by Hadla with 1:13 remaining cut the deficit to three (58-55). Gaucher, however, came up with a clutch offensive rebound at the other end of the floor and the Bears went 6-for-6 at the free throw line over the final 30 seconds to secure the 64-59 victory.

The Bears shot 43.8% (14-32) in the second half and went 16-for-19 (82.2%) at the free throw line over the final 20 minutes. The Bears' defense forced nine turnovers and limited the Owls to 21.4% (6-28) shooting in the second half.