BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Junior guard Brittney Chappron (Braintree, MA) scored 18 points and senior forward Ashley Coucci (Dartmouth, MA) pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds to lead the Bridgewater State College Bears to a 68-53 victory over MCLA in MASCAC women's basketball action this afternoon in North Adams.
The game marked the regular season finale for both teams. Bridgewater improves to 14-10 overall and 7-5 in the MASCAC. The Bears are the third seed in next week's MASCAC Tournament and will host a first round game on Tuesday night at 7 PM against Salem State. MCLA drops to 14-11 on the season and 4-8 in conference play. The Trailblazers are seeded fifth in the tournament and will travel to Worcester State College on Tuesday night.
Chappron connected on 5 of 9 field goal attempts and finished 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Coucci added six points and four blocked shots while six of her 19 boards came off the offensive glass.
BSC used a 15-0 run near the end of the first half to erase an early deficit. The Bears would eventually take a 35-30 lead into the intermission. Bridgewater would take control of the game for good with a 13-0 run in the early stages of the second half. The Bears shot 48.2% (27-for-56) from the floor for the game and held a slight 41-37 rebounding advantage.
Freshman forward Shelly DePina (New Bedford, MA) added 12 points, four rebounds, three blocks and three steals, while sophomore forward Carolyn Swanson (Stoughton, MA) came off the bench to score ten points on 5 of 8 shooting.
Junior forward Jade Prickett (Westhampton, MA) and freshman forward Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, NY) paced the Trailblazers with 17 points apiece. Prickett also grabbed eight rebounds, while Wehner added eight boards, three assists and three blocks.