BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Salem State College withstood a furious second half rally as the Lady Vikings downed host Bridgewater State College, 61-55, in MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament action this evening from the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
With the win, number six seed Salem (10-16) advances to the semifinal round as they will take on second seeded Fitchburg State College on Friday night at Westfield State. Westfield is the top seed of the tournament and will host the semifinals and championship game. Bridgewater State ends the 2008-2009 campaign with a record of 14-11.
Junior center Danielle Jenkins (Marlboro, MA) had a huge game for the Lady Vikings as she posted a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds. She also blocked six shots and recorded four steals.
Salem controlled play for the first 30 minutes of action. The Lady Vikings took a 29-20 lead into the intermission and used a 17-4 run over a seven minute span in the second half to go up by 22 points (50-28) with 9:51 remaining in the game.
Bridgewater then caught fire as the Bears used the hot three-point shooting of sophomore guard Corey Cuddihy (Scituate, MA) and junior guard Brittney Chappron (Braintree, MA) to get back into the game. Cuddihy and Chappron combined for six three pointers over an eight-minute stretch as the Bears outscored the Lady Vikings 27-7 over that span. Chappron, who scored 13 points during the run, buried a trifecta to make it a two-point game (57-55) with just 44 second left.
After a Salem miss on the front end of a one-on-one free throw attempt, the Bears had the ball with a chance to tie or to take the lead. BSC however was unable to get off a quality shot on the possession and Jenkins knocked home four free throws in the final 24 seconds to give Salem the 61-55 victory.
Chappron paced the Bears with 15 points, five assists and three steals. Cuddihy added 14 points (12 in the second half) and four rebounds as she connected on 4 of 7 three-point attempts.
Junior guard Jakoya Wilkins (Dorchester, MA) chipped in with 11 points, six assists and four steals for Salem, while junior forward Katie Bielonko (Chicopee, MA) added 11 points and nine boards.
The Bears shot just 33% for the game from the floor and made only eight trips (4-for-8) to the free throw line. After shooting 0-for-7 from three-point range in the first half, BSC did however recover with a 7-for-14 performance from behind the arc in the second half. Bridgewater also held a 44-39 advantage on the boards with 19 rebounds coming off the offensive glass.