BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior forward Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 67-60 victory over visiting Wesley College in the consolation game of The Cave Classic on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.
Melton connected on 11 of 18 field goal attempts and also recorded seven rebounds, two assists and a game-high five steals.
Freshman Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.) added 14 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals for the Bears. DaSilva went 4-for-9 from behind the arc.
Junior forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) garnered All-Tournament honors for the Bears as she tallied eight points, nine rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal in the win over the Wolverines. Lindland also notched 19 points, eight boards, a block and five steals in BSU's 85-76 overtime setback to Williams Smith College in the semifinals.
Sophomore guard Tiyanna Gibbs (Wilmington, Del.) paced the Wolverines with 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting including 4-for-7 from three-point range. Gibbs also finished with six rebounds and four steals.
Junior forward Brionna Johnson (Smyrna, Del.) was named to the All-Tournament as she notched her second straight double. Johnson tallied 18 points and 11 boards, including six off the offensive glass.
Freshman guard Monshea Newsome-Murray (Seaford, Del.) added ten points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals for the visitors.
The Bears looked poised for a blow-out victory as they jumped out to a 15-3 lead and held a 16-6 advantage after one quarter of play. Melton scored ten of BSU's 16 points in the opening period.
With the Wolverines down by ten (28-18) with under two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Johnson knocked down 3 of 4 free throws in the final two minutes to make it a seven-point game (28-21) at the break.
Wesley carried that momentum into the third quarter outscoring the Bears by a margin of 25-16 in the period. Trailing 34-25, the Wolverine used a 10-0 run highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Gibbs to take their first lead of the game (35-34). A Newsome-Murray lay-up with 4:35 remaining in the period capped off the spurt.
DaSilva accounted for nine of the Bears' final ten points of the period with a trio of trifectas. The last three-pointer gave BSU a 44-42 advantage with 51 second remaining. However, Johnson and Newsome-Murray answered with back-to-back lay-ups to give the visitors a 46-44 lead at the end of three quarters of play.
The Bears scored the first 21 points of the fourth quarter and held the Wolverines scoreless for over seven minutes to take control of the game. Senior guard Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass.) scored eight of her nine points during the run, including a pair of three-pointers, while Melton added six.
Bridgewater shot 43% (26-61) for the game, including 50% (15-30) in the second half. The Bears assisted on 22 of their 26 made field goals, and went 9-for-22 (41%) from long range.
Although turnovers were even at 23 apiece, it was the Bears who capitalized on the miscues as they held a significant 31-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
Wesley went 11-for-14 (79%) from the free throw line in the first half but made just five trips (3-for-5) to the charity stripe over the final two periods. The Wolverines connected on just 34% (21-62) of their field goal attempt and finished 4-for-18 (22%) from three-point range.
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday evening. The Bears (2-2) host Rhode Island College at 5:30, while the Wolverines (1-2) travel to Widener University for a seven o'clock game with the Pride.