Women's Basketball Falls to Eastern Connecticut, 72-64

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team has reached the semester break on a six-game losing streak.

The Bears were outscored, 10-0, during a critical fourth-quarter stretch and lost to Eastern Connecticut State University, 72-64, at the Tinsley Center Friday night.

BSU and Eastern Connecticut State were tied, 62-62, with 2:13 to go, but the Warriors scored the next 10 points to take control and improve to 4-6.

The Bears (1-6) have not won since defeating the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on opening night.

BSU is on its longest losing streak since dropping seven in a row from Nov. 18-Dec. 9, 2017. The Bears now have 15 days off before playing again.

Junior Sophie Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) had 19 points, the most she's scored at BSU, with four 3-pointers and added seven rebounds and two assists.

Senior Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, N.Y.) added 16 points plus six assists and five rebounds.

Sophomore Bridgitt O'Sullivan-Van Etten (Cumberland, R.I.) scored 13 points on 6 of 7 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.

The Warriors had four players in double figures, led by sophomore Liv Cassesse (Wallingford, Conn.) with 18 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists.

Junior Marissa Nudd (Colchester, Conn.) scored 17 points and had four rebounds.

Freshman Maddie Topa (New Hartford, Conn.) and junior Alyssa Paquette (Claremont, N.H.) each had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bears shot just 36 percent from the floor and made 7 of 22 shots from 3-point range. Eastern Connecticut State hit 44 percent of its shots and had 24 turnovers.

BSU trailed, 49-48, entering the fourth quarter and pulled even at 53-53 and 55-55 on a layup by freshman Savannah Azoff (Sandwich, Mass.) and a jumper by Bradbury.

After a 3-pointer by Cassesse and a jumper by Burchhardt, BSU took its only lead of the second half at 59-58 when O'Sullivan Van Etten converted an offensive rebounds with 3:58 remaining.

Two Nudd baskets gave the Warriors a 62-59 lead, but O'Sullivan-Van Etten tied it at 62, hitting a 3-pointer with 2:13 left.

BSU then missed five straight shots and turned the ball over twice.

The Warriors went in front, 66-62, when Topa made a foul shot and Cassesse connected on a 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining.

In the final minute, Eastern Connecticut State made six foul shots. The Bears managed only a layup by O'Sullivan-Van Etten with five seconds remaining.

BSU was down, 18-16, after one quarter as a layup by Burchhardt with 1:31 left pulled the Bears within two.

BSU had a 30-22 lead with 5:58 to go in the half, using a 9-0 run to build its biggest edge.

But after opening that advantage, the Bears did not score again in the half, missing their final nine shots and having three turnovers.

The Warriors went on an 11-0 run in the last 5:43 and held a 33-30 halftime lead.

BSU was down, 46-39, in the third quarter but finished on a 9-3 run over the last 2:59 to pull within 49-48.

A layup by junior Ashleigh Johnson (Carver, Mass.) with 10 seconds left made it a one-point game.

Eastern Connecticut State owns a 12-7 lead in a series that began in the 1980-81 season. The Bears had won two of the last three meetings.

The Bears' next two games will be against teams from California at the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.

After a 15-day break, BSU goes against Whittier College of Whittier, Calif., on Sunday, Dec. 28. Whittier is off to a 3-4 start with four losses in a row.

The Bears then play on Tuesday, Dec. 30 against the University of Redlands of Redlands, Calif., which has a 4-1 record and plays two games next week at the Puerto Rico Classic.

The next game at the Tinsley Center is on Jan. 10 against Salem State University.

Eastern Connecticut State does not play again until Saturday, Jan. 3 when it resumes the Little East Conference schedule, hosting the University of Massachusetts Boston at 1 p.m.