Women's Basketball Drops 70-52 Decision to WPI

WORCESTER, Mass. – The WPI women's basketball team posted a 70-52 victory over visiting Bridgwater State University on Monday night at the Harrington Auditorium.

The Engineers improve to 8-6 on the season while the Bears fall to 6-9.

Junior guard Adrianna Niles (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored a career-high 21 points and senior forward Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, Conn.) tallied a season-high 19 points to lead the way for WPI. Niles connected on 4-of-5 three-point field goals and added nine rebounds and three assists. Kelly went 6-for-10 from the floor, including a pair of three-pointers, pulled down nine boards and dished out three assists to go along with two steals.

Freshman guard Emmy Allyn (Rutland, Mass.) and senior forward Ally McMorrow (Quincy, Mass.) also finished in double-figure scoring for the hosts with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Allyn went 3-for-7 from long range and handed out five assists.

Junior guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) was Bridgewater's leading scorer with 13 points as she now has 992 for her career. The Bears also received eight points and seven rebounds from junior center Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) as well as eight points and seven boards in 25 minutes off the bench from junior forward Jordan Peebles (Middleboro, Mass.). Senior guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with six points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot.

WPI led 29-24 at the break as both teams shot under 40% in a low-scoring first half. The Bears connected on just 8 of 30 (26.7%) field goal attempts, including 2-for-9 from behind the arc. The Engineers shot 36.7% (11-30) over the first two periods but managed to knock down 5 of 12 (41.7%) three-point attempts.

Niles scored 14 of her game-high 21 points in the first half as she was 3-for-4 from behind the arc.

The Engineers opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run to take a 40-26 lead. McMorrow scored six of her 11 points during the spurt.

Down by 16 (48-32) later in the quarter, the Bears tallied the last seven points of the session to cut the deficit to single digits (48-39) heading into the final period. Junior guard Eryn Rice (Medway, Mass.) sparked the run with five points on a pair of free throws and a three-pointer.

A jumper by D'Amours with 7:39 remaining in the fourth quarter pulled the Bears to within seven at 50-43. The Engineers, however, drained four three-pointers over the final 7 1/2 minutes, including two from Allyn, to help pull away for the 70-52 victory.

WPI shot 56% (14-25) in the second half with a 5-for-6 clip from three-point range. Bridgewater connected on 10 of 28 (35.7%) field goal attempts over the final two periods including 1-for-5 from behind the arc.

The Bears went 13-for-14 (92.9%) at the free throw line for the game.

In upcoming action, the Bears entertain MASCAC foe MCLA on Wednesday evening at 5:30. The Engineers head to Smith College on Saturday afternoon (2:00) to open NEWMAC play against the nationally ranked Pioneers.