BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Bridgewater State College women's basketball team shook off some first half struggles and went on to defeat the MCLA Trailblazers, 59-42, on Think Pink Night at the Tinsley Center on Tuesday evening.
The Bears, winners of nine of their last ten games, improve to 17-4 on the season and 8-1 in the MASCAC while the Trailblazers slip to 9-11 and 2-6 in conference play.
Senior forward Colleen Feeney (Providence, RI) notched her 19th double-double of the season for the Bears as she tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior guard Caitlin Feeney (Providence, RI) led all scorers with 18 points while also adding 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals. Feeney now has 976 points in her four seasons at BSC. Fellow senior Justine Farroba (North Attleboro, MA) chipped in with 7 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds.
Leading the way for the Trailblazers was junior forward Taylor Kenyon (N. Bennington, VT) who scored a team-high 8 points, 7 rebounds, 7 steals, and 4 assists. Sophomore center Laura Silverman (Clifton Park, NY) pulled down 8 rebounds while sophomore guard Ali Leveille (Southampton, MA) chipped in with 8 points off the bench for MCLA.
The Bears held the visitors to 33% (7-for-21) shooting from the field in the second half and a porous 22% (2-for-9) from beyond the three point arc in the game while Colleen and Caitlin Feeney also scored 22 of the teams 39 points in the second half for BSC. The Bears also held a 37-36 rebounding advantage while they forced 26 turnovers, 9 blocks, and 18 steals (13 in second half).
Bridgewater State College jumped out to an 8-0 lead holding MCLA scoreless for the first 71/2 minutes of the game. The Trailblazers, however, went on a 14-3 run to take the lead (14-11) with 6 minutes to go in the half. Bridgewater then outscored MCLA 9-4 to close out the half as both teams headed to the locker room with BSC leading 20-18.
Clinging to a slim 28-26 advantage with 15:33 remaining in the second stanza, BSC held MCLA scoreless for more than 3 minutes of play and went on a 9-0 run. The Bears continued to cruise and they would only hold the Trailblazers to 14 points for the rest of the game.
Both teams will face Worcester State in the upcoming week. MCLA will travel to Worcester for a 4 o'clock tilt on Saturday, while Bridgewater State will take the week off and host the Lancers next Tuesday at 6 P.M.