Women's Basketball Falls to Worcester State in Regular Season Finale, 81-72

By Jim Fenton

WORCESTER, Mass. -- The bid for a perfect Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season for the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team was denied Saturday afternoon.

The Bears were unable to hold on to a five-point late in regulation and were upset by Worcester State University, 81-72, snapping a 14-game winning streak.

BSU finishes the MASCAC schedule 13-1 and is 15-10 after losing its first game since a Jan. 3 setback to nationally ranked Smith College.

Worcester State had lost in Bridgewater, 83-49, on Jan. 28.

The Bears were seeking to become just the second women's basketball team at Bridgewater State to go undefeated in the MASCAC. The 1984-85 team won the conference with a 12-0 mark.

BSU, which clinched the regular-season championship last Wednesday, will be the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament.

The Bears will play a semifinal-round game on Thursday night at the Tinsley Center against the lowest remaining seed, either No. 4 Salem State, No. 5 Worcester State or No. 6 Anna Maria.

BSU was in front, 66-61, with 2:13 remaining in the fourth quarter after two foul shots by freshman Emilie von der Linden (Sanbornville, N.H.).

But instead of clinching the undefeated conference regular season, the Bears were outscored, 7-2, in the final 2:09 and were forced into OT for the second time this season.

In the extra session, Worcester State outscored BSU, 13-4, with the Bears missing 8 of 10 shots and never holding the lead in the last five minutes.

Junior Sophie Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) led BSU with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting with three 3-pointers to go with three assists.

Senior Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, N.Y.) added 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Bridgitt O'Sullivan-Van Etten (Cumberland, R.I.) contributed 13 points and three rebounds while von der Linden scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for her third straight double-double and team-leading tenth of the season.

Worcester State (10-15, 7-7 MASCAC) had two players exceed 20 points with senior Hannah Lomonaco (Northbridge, Mass.) leading the way with 27 points, hitting 15 of 16 foul shots and a pair of 3-pointers to go with five assists.

Junior Lena Waldron (Quincy, Mass.) score 21 points to go with six rebounds.

Junior Aydan Gulliver (Cranston, R.I.) had 14 points while junior Mia Haynes (Worcester, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Junior Alana Smith (Chicopee, Mass.) had a team-high 13 rebounds for the Lancers.

BSU shot 45 percent from the field but had 25 turnovers that resulted in 21 Worcester State points.

The Lancers made 20 of 25 free throws while the Bears were 12-for-16.

In OT, BSU missed its first four shots and fell behind, 75-68, as Waldron made a foul shots, Gulliver converted a three-point play and, hit a jumper before Lomonaco made a free throw.

O'Sullivan-Van Etten ended BSU's drought with a jumper with 2:01 remaining to make it 75-70, but the only other points the Bears would score came on a Burchhardt layup with 10 seconds to go.

Gulliver and Lomonaco scored five points apiece for the Lancers in OT.

The game was even at 46 going into the fourth quarter before BSU took a 51-46 lead with 8:16 remaining on a layup by O'Sullivan-Von Etten and a 3-pointer by junior Ashleigh Johnson (Carver, Mass.).

Worcester State went in front, 54-52, with 5:41 to play on a jumper by Lomonaco, but the Bears took the lead, 57-54, after Bradbury made a 3-pointer and hit a layup.

The game was tied at 57 and 59 efore the Bears used a 7-2 run for a 66-61 edge with 2:13 to go.

Bradbury's two foul shots with 1:53 remaining had BSU in front, 68-64, but Waldron hit a layup with 1:34 left and Lomonaco tied sent the game to OT with 12 seconds to go,
hitting two free throws.

BSU led, 17-13, after one quarter, but the Lancers outscored the Bears, 22-10, in the second quarter to take a 35-27 lead at the break.

BSU had nine turnovers and hit five baskets in the second quarter.

The Bears were down, 40-33 with 6:34 left in the third quarter before scoring seven points in a row for a tie.

There were four ties late in the quarter, and it was 46-46 going into the last 10 minutes after senior Mairead Gallagher (Bridgewater, Mass.) hit a layup with one second to go.

BSU has won nine MASCAC regular-season titles outright and shared two others.

The 14-game winning streak was the longest in the tenure of coach Bridgett Casey, who started at Bridgewater State in 1997.

Second-seeded Framingham State will have an opening-round bye with defending champion BSU  in the MASCAC tourney, which starts Tuesday with Westfield State hosting Anna Maria and Salem State entertaining Framingham State.