BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Sophomore forward Shelly DePina (New Bedford, MA) scored 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and six steals to lead the Bridgewater State College women's basketball team to a 60-57 victory over UMass Dartmouth this evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
The Bears even their season record at 2-2 with the win, while UMass falls to 2-3.
DePina connected on 7 of 13 field goals attempts and also blocked two shots. Three of her seven rebounds came off the offensive glass.
Sophomore forward Monica-Sabina Bharoocha (North Smithfield, RI) came off the bench to score 16 points on 8 of 9 shooting. Twelve of her 16 points came in the second half.
Freshman guard Nicole Marotta (Bridgewater, MA) and junior guard Lynley DeAmato (Melrose, MA) both came off the bench to lead the way for the visiting Corsairs who battled back from a 15-point second half deficit to take the game down to the wire.
Marotta notched a team-high 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting, while DeAmato tallied 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and six steals.
The two teams turned the ball over 29 times apiece, with the majority of those coming in the first half. After connecting on just 6 of 27 field goal attempts in the opening stanza, UMass rebounded with a 16-for-29 (55%) shooting performance in the second half to get back into the game. The Corsairs struggled mightily at the charity stripe as they made just 10 of 21 free throw attempts.
Trailing 40-25 with 13:29 remaining in the game, the visiting Corsairs outscored the Bears 20-8 over the next six minutes to pull to within three points (48-45). Marotta scored eight of her 15 points during the run including a pair of three-pointers.
Bridgewater's lead fluctuated between three and seven points until junior forward Tashuana Ashmeade (Hyannis, MA) buried a jumper with 1:54 left on the clock to pull UMass to within two at 57-55.
A Bharoocha layup and a pair of free throws by DeAmato kept it a two-point game (59-57) with just 49 seconds to go. After a missed three-pointer, BSC got a huge offensive rebound by freshman guard Michaela Cosby (Walpole, MA) with 24 seconds remaining. Junior guard Corey Cuddihy (Scituate, MA) then hit on one of two free throws to give the Bears a three-point cushion. After a timeout, DeAmato came up short on a three-pointer with time expiring and Bridgewater escaped with the victory.
Cuddihy also finished in double-figures for the host Bears as she finished with 12 points while dishing out four assists. Cosby pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points, two assists and three steals.
Freshman forward Colleen Moriarty (Canton, MA) contributed eight points, 11 rebounds and two steals for the Corsairs.