Women's Basketball Drops 72-63 Decision to Babson

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team is off to a 1-4 start following a non-conference loss to Babson College.

The Bears were outscored, 28-15, over the final 13:17 and lost to the Beavers, 72-63, at the Tinsley Center Saturday afternoon.

BSU has dropped four straight games since an opening-night win over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

The Bears held a 48-44 lead over Babson (5-4) with less than four minutes to go in the third quarter.

But the offense struggled the rest of the way and the Beavers were able to build a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

Junior Sophie Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scored 18 points for the second straight game to lead BSU and had three rebounds and two steals before fouling out.

Senior Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, N.Y.) added 14 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Bears while senior Maired Gallagher (Bridgewater, Mass.) scored 11 points with three assists and two steals.

Freshman Emilie von der Linden (Sarbornville, N.H.) grabbed 10 rebounds and had eight points.

Babson had two players in double figures, led by graduate student Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) with a career-best 25 points plus seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. She made 10 of 12 foul shots and had 17 second-half points.

Senior Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds.

BSU went 10-for-31 from the field and 1-for-13 on 3-pointers in the second half while committing 13 turnovers.

The Bears were up, 36-34, at halftime after holding Babson to nine second-quarter points.

BSU moved the lead to 46-42 on two foul shots by von der Lindenand it was 48-44 after a Gallagher layup with 3:32 remaining in the third quarter.

But the Bears managed just two free throws by junior Ashleigh Johnson (Carver, Mass.) the rest of the quarter, missing two shots and turning the ball over four times.

Babson closed on a 9-2 run to take a 53-50 lead into the final 10 minutes.

The Bears were then hit with a 10-0 run to start the last quarter, failing to score until a Bradbury free throw with 4:19 left made it 63-51.

The Bears were 0-for-7 with four turnovers in that stretch, and their first field goal of the quarter came with 3:50 to go, sophomore Reese Bartlett (Norwood, Mass.) hitting a layup to make it 63-53.

The closest BSU would get the rest of the way was six points, and Babson led by as many as 13.

The Bears trailed, 25-18, after one quarter as they missed the final seven shots of the opening 10 minutes.

A layup by von der Linden gave BSU a 17-15 lead, but the Bears were held to one free throw after that.

Babson led, 32-26, with 3:02 to go in the half, but BSU finished on a 10-2 run for a 36-34 lead at the break.

Gallagher made a free throw and hit a layup and Burchhardt added a 3-pointer and a jumper with seven seconds to go.

The Beavers now lead the series with the Bears, 20-5, winning five of the last six games.

BSU will be in Waltham, Mass., on Wednesday to face Brandeis University at 5 p.m.

Babson is idle until Dec. 29 when it faces Hartford in its Judy Pearson '85 Memorial Tournament at Staake Gymnasium.