BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Senior forward Andrea Wasuk (Lenox, MA) posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Westfield State College Owls to an 80-74 win over host Bridgewater State College in a Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's basketball game this afternoon in Bridgewater.
Wasuk scored 18 of her team-high 23 points in the second half as the Owls held off a late Bridgewater State rally to improve to 10-3 overall and 1-0 in the MASCAC. Bridgewater falls to 6-6 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
Junior guard Brittany Chappron (Braintree, MA) paced the Bears with a game-high 24 points to go along with six assists and five steals.
Westfield scored the final 12 points of the first half and outscored the Bears by a margin of 14-2 over the last five minutes to a take a 35-30 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, the Owls led by as many as 16 points and held a 64-54 advantage with 8:09 remaining. The Bears chipped away at the deficit and pulled to within two points (68-66) on a three-point field goal by freshman forward Ciara Shaughnessy (Lowell, MA) with 4 ½ minutes left to play. Led by seven points from Wasuk, however, Westfield responded with an 8-2 run over the next 2 ½ minutes to take control of the game.
Westfield shot 49% (27-for-55) from the floor for the game and held a 40-27 rebounding advantage. The Owls also attempted 11 more free throws than the Bears, finishing 21-for-29 from the charity stripe while BSC was just 12 of 18.
Freshman forward Shelly DePina (New Bedford, MA) added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears as she notched her first career double-double. Sophomore forward Carolyn Swanson (Stoughton, MA) chipped in with 14 points off the bench.
Senior guard Katie Sylvain (Hadley, MA) added 16 points for the Owls.
The MASCAC schedule resumes for both teams next week. Bridgewater travels to Framingham State College on Tuesday night to take on the Rams at 5:30 PM. Westfield hosts Worcester State also at 5:30.