Women's Basketball Downs MCLA, 88-29, for 12th Straight Win

By Jim Fenton

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team made it 12 wins in a row on Wednesday night to maintain its lead in the Massachusetts
State Collegiate Athletic Conference standings.

The Bears dealt the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts an 88-29 loss at the Amsler Campus Center, their 29th straight win in the series with the Trailblazers.

BSU (13-9) has recorded a dozen consecutive victories after opning the season 1-9. It marks the second straight year that the Bears have won 12 straight games.

With three regular-season games to go, BSU is 11-0 in the MASCAC, two games ahead of Framingham State (9-2). MCLA (0-17) is 0-11 in the conference.

The Bears were behind, 8-6, early before taking control in the opening quarter.

Sophomore Chloe Azoff (Sandwich, Mass.) tied a career-high with 16 points, all in the first half, by making 5 of 7 shots and going 4-for-6 on 3-pointers.

It marked the second straight game in double figures for Azoff, who added three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

Sophomore Caitlyn Clark (Clifton, Va.) had a career-best 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting in 14 minutes off the bench and grabbed three rebounds.

Sophomore Bridgitt O'Sullivan-Van Etten (Cumberland, R.I.) added 12 points with four assists and three steals while freshman Emilie von der Linden (Sanbornville,
N.H.) had 10 points and eight rebounds.

MCLA sophomore Abigail Scialabba (Williamstown, Mass.) had 10 points and senior Hailey Peabody (West Springfield, Mass.) added seven points and five rebounds.

BSU, who had 13 players score, made 55 percent of its shots (36-for-66) and went 7-for-16 on 3-pointers while holding a 43-26 edge in rebounds.

The Bears outscored the Trailblazers, 48-6, in the paint and turned 29 turnovers into 33 points. MCLA made just 20 percent of its shots.

BSU trailed, 5-2 and 8-6, in the opening 3:13, but it went on a 13-0 run over a span of nearly four minutes to open a 19-8 advantage.

MCLA had eight turnovers and missed five shots in that span while the Bears used a balanced offense and held a 22-13 lead after the first 10 minutes.

BSU moved the advantage into double digits for good at 26-16 with 8:22 left in the half.

The Bears held MCLA scoreless for five minutes while going on an 11-0 run and had a 33-16 lead.

BSU closed the half on a 15-2 run over 3:07 and it was Azoff who sparked that burst.

Azoff made three consecutive 3-pointers in 1:17 and added two foul shots, giving her 11 points in the last 2:23 of the half.

The Bears were up, 48-20, at the break after hitting 19 of 38 shots while MCLA hit only 6 of 22 from the field.

BSU turned 20 turnovers into 23 points in the half and held a 26-4 edge in points in the paint while getting 12 steals.

The Bears scored the first 12 points of the second half for a 60-20 lead as five different players scored, and the lead was 70-24 entering the fourth quarter.

The Trailblazers scored just 16 points after the first quarter.

BSU is on the road again Saturday, playing Westfield State at noon.

MCLA travels to Framingham State for a noon game on Saturday.