BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Senior forward Colleen Feeney's (Providence, RI) basket with six seconds left lifted the Bridgewater State College women's basketball team to a dramatic 67-65 victory over Babson College this evening from the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
With the win, the Bears improve to 4-1 on the season as they have reeled off four straight wins. Babson dropped their fourth straight game as the Beavers fall to 1-4.
Feeney posted her fifth double-double of the season in as many games as she tallied 23 points and 17 rebounds to go along with 5 blocked shots. She poured in 19 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked 4 shots in the second half alone.
The Bears led 28-21 at the half and got up by as many as 10 points three times in the second half including a 53-43 lead with 9:36 remaining in the game. Babson battled back as the Beavers went on a 13-3 run, capped off by a game-tying basket by senior forward Nicole McManus (Baldwinsville, NY), to knot the score at 56-56 with just over five minutes left on the clock.
BSC responded with a 9-2 run highlighted by a big three-point basket from the corner by sophomore guard Katelyn Turner (Bridgewater, MA). That, however, would be the last points the Bears would score until Feeney's heroics with six seconds left. Babson fought back to tie the game up at 65-65 as they reeled off seven points in a row capped by a two-point jumper by senior guard Caitlin Fenn (Niantic, CT) with 26 seconds remaining.
That set the stage for Feeney as the Bears came out of a timeout. Off a feed into the post from freshman guard Corey Cuddihy (Scituate, MA), Feeney wheeled around a defender towards the basketball and dropped home a right-handed runner off the glass to give BSC the dramatic win.
Senior guard Caitlin Feeney (Providence, RI) added 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the Bears before fouling out with just over seven minutes remaining. Senior guard Melissa Murphy (Rockland, MA) chipped in with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals.
BSC also got some very productive minutes off the bench from Turner and junior forward Ashley Coucci (Dartmouth, MA). Turner got the big three-pointer late in the game and also pulled down a pair of rebounds and dished out 2 assists. Coucci pulled down 5 rebounds (3 which came off the offensive glass) and also registered 2 blocks and 2 steals.
Fenn paced the Beavers with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. 17 of her 21 points came in the second half. Senior guard Caitlin Boulier (Wolcott, CT) added 16 points and 7 boards.
The Bears shot 34% (23-for-68) from the floor, while Babson connected on 35% (25-for-72) of their field goal attempts. Both teams struggled mightily from three-point range as BSC finished 3-for-18 from behind the arc while Babson hit on just 2 of 11 three-point attempts.
BSC will look to make it five straight wins next Tuesday as the Bears host UMass-Dartmouth at 7. Babson hosts Brandeis University on Saturday at 3 as the Beavers look to put an end to their four-game losing streak.