Courtesy of the Westfield State College Sports Information Office
WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Corey
Cuddihy (Scituate) scored 19 points, including two late
free throws, to lead Bridgewater State to a 67-64 comeback victory
over host Westfield State in the MASCAC conference women's
basketball opener on Saturday, Jan. 9.
Bridgewater State rallied from a 12-point deficit early in the
second half to take the lead with 8:45 left in the second half on
two free throws by Michaela Johnson (Riverside, RI).
The teams traded leads down the stretch. Christal
Bello (West Boylston) hit two free throws to regain the
lead for the Owls, 64-63, with 50 seconds remaining. Bridgewater's
Michaela Cosby (Walpole) scored on a backdoor
layup, with a nice bounce pass assist from freshman Elisha
Homich (Ludlow), to give the Bears the lead for good,
65-64, with 36 seconds remaining..
Westfield freshman guard Briana Kelly (Hampden)
missed a 3-point shot with 15 seconds remaining and Cuddihy was
fouled after grabbing the rebound. Cuddihy knocked down two free
throws with 11 seconds remaining to boost the lead to 67-64.
The Owls nearly sent the game into overtime. Westfield freshman
guard Angela Paterson (Nantucket) missed a 3-point
attempt with five seconds remaining. Senior Sarah
Boudreau (Tewksbury) grabbed the long rebound in the left
corner and shot a 3-pointer that went in and out of the basket just
before the final buzzer.
Bridgewater was able to comeback from its 40-28 deficit at the
18:44 mark of the second half on the strength of a stifling full
court press that forced Westfield State into many of its 22
turnovers on the day.
Bridgewater jumped out to a 10-4 lead to start the game, but
Westfield went on a 19-4 run, including a 12-0 scoring spurt, to
take a 26-14 lead with 8:04 remaining in the first half. Sparking
the scoring surge were a pair of 3-point baskets from both Kelly
and sophomore guard Janae Jones (Springfield). The
Owls led at intermission, 35-28.
Along with Cuddihy, Bridgewater had strong efforts from
Brittney Chappron of Braintree (15 points) and
Crosby, who had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Shelly DePina (New Bedford) added 10 points and
eight rebounds.
Westfield State again received a double-double from junior forward
Ashley Finnegan (Worcester) who had 13 points and
11 rebounds. Bello did not score from the field but was stellar
from the foul line as she made 10 of 12 free throws.