By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women’s basketball team got off to a rough start in the first half of the regular season.
The Bears were 3-9 after dropping their Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference opener at home to Framingham State, 59-42, on Jan. 9.
BSU endured a six-game losing streak along the way after having a Nov. 24 game against Rhode Island College cancelled in a disciplinary move against the team.
The Bears have turned things around to begin the second half of the season, winning four straight games to put them in a three-way tie atop the MASCAC with Framingham State and Westfield State at 4-1.
“We knew what they were capable of and we started questioning maybe they’re not quite ready just yet,’’ said coach Bridgett Casey, who has guided BSU to five consecutive MASCAC tournament championships. “We’ve been on them, working with them.
“I had a feeling it would come. I didn’t know when. It came and it’s a good thing and I hope we can continue to build off that.’’
The Bears (7-9) finish the first half of the MASCAC schedule tonight when they host the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts at 5:30 p.m. at the Tinsley Center.
BSU picked up an important win on the road on Saturday, handing Westfield State its first conference loss, 90-79, to move into the first-place tie.
“We knew we were playing well and Westfield was going to give us a true sense of where we were at this point in the season,’’ said Casey. “That was a big win for us.
“For us, defense is the focal point of how successful we’re going to be. We’re not that consistent offensively just to be able to put 80 points up and win. We need to hold teams and find the highest percentage shot.
“That’s really what we’ve been driving home is defense, smothering teams. We’re playing pretty solid defense and now capitalizing on the turnovers that we get.’’
Chanelle Melton of Brockton is leading the Bears in scoring (12.9) and is second in rebounds (5.3) while Jennie Lindland is averaging 11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals.
Lindland, a junior forward, was named the MASCAC player of the week after averaging 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals in two wins. She had seven steals in a win over Worcester State.
“Jennie’s playing really, really well right now,’’ said Casey. “With each game, she’s gaining more and more confidence. If we’ve had one consistent player all year long, it’s been Jennie.’’
After tonight, BSU will have six MASCAC games and a non-conference game against Williams left on the schedule. Casey is looking for the improvement to continue heading into the conference tourney.
“We’re in a nice little stretch here,’’ said Casey. “We had a slow start, but it was pretty tough competition, which we knew. But there were games we had and let go. We had a lead and didn’t know how to finish it off. We struggled with that.
“For a lot of these players, because we’ve been so successful, they haven’t had to be that go-to person. We’ve always had Meg Boutilette, Jenna Williamson, Elisha Homich who were able to be the leaders vocally and in points.
“You take that away, and now it’s their time. It took them a while to kind of figure that out. Hopefully after Saturday’s game, a little light went off that, yeah, this is our time.’’