By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The final week of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball season has arrived with one game separating the top three teams.
Bridgewater State University is in the mix, tied for second place with Framingham State University at 8-2, one game behind Westfield State University (9-1).
And the Bears will have a chance to move into a tie for the top spot on Wednesday night when they meet Westfield State in the home finale.
BSU prepared for that showdown by putting together a strong second half to rally past Worcester State University, 74-64, on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.
The Bears, who faced a 42-32 deficit early in the third quarter, responded with a 22-0 run in the span of 5:37 to take control.
BSU (11-11, eight wins in the last 10 games) used a tenacious pressure defense that forced 35 turnovers, including 13 in the third quarter.
"When we have our full-court press going and we convert now off those turnovers we cause, it's scary how good our defense can be,'' said Bears coach Bridgett Casey, whose team is at the .500 mark overall for the first time since November. "If we trust each other and work together, that's what can happen.
"We've forced a lot of turnovers before, but the difference is we capitalized on them at the other end. We got one or two stops and kind of fed off each other.''
The Lancers (7-16, 4-6) turned the ball over 12 times during that 22-0 spree by the Bears, who trapped the ball and made things happen time after time.
Chanelle Melton of Brockton had four steals in the run while Jennie Lindland scored 12 of the 22 points.
BSU went in front, 54-42, thanks to the blitz and took a 57-49 lead into the final 10 minutes.
Worcester State got no closer than six points the rest of the way as it was outscored, 42-24, after the break.
Four players scored in double figures for the Bears with Melton (six steals, five assists and four rebounds), Lindland (eight steals) and Vanesa Conceicao getting 18 points each. Sara DaSilva added 11 points for BSU.
"That's well balanced scoring,'' said Casey, whose team finishes the regular season on Saturday at the Mass. College of Liberal Arts. "If we can do that from this point on, that'll be good.''
Worcester State held a 22-16 lead after one quarter and 40-32 at the midway point, shooting 60 percent from the field.
"Just defensively, we weren't talking,'' said Casey of the first half. "We tried a couple of half-court sets on defense and the rotations weren't there.''
The adjustments were made at halftime and the Bears got their game in order to make it three straight wins.
BSU, which had 23 steals against the Lancers, is the only MASCAC team to defeat first-place Westfield State, 90-79, on Jan. 23, and another win this week sends the Bears into a tie for the top.
"We had a good game plan and came out and executed,'' said Casey of the first meeting with the Owls.