BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Rhiana Page (Brookline, Mass.) scored a career-high 20 points and junior guard Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.) added 16 to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 73-44 victory over visiting Wentworth on Thursday evening at the Tinsley Center.
Bridgewater State improves to 2-7 with the win as the Bears snapped a seven-game losing skid. The 73 points marked a season-high for BSU.
Wentworth falls to 1-9 as the Leopards have dropped seven straight.
Page connected on 9 of 11 field goals and was a perfect 2-for-2 at the free throw line. She also added five rebounds, a blocked shot and two steals. DaSilva was 7-for-15 from the floor, including a pair of three-pointers, and contributed three boards, a pair of assists, a block and a game-high four steals.
Senior forward Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) rounded out the Bears' double-digit point producers. Melton notched 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting and added four rebounds and two steals. Senior guard Megan Ianiro (Ashland, Mass.) set career highs with nine assists and seven rebounds.
Trailing by one (5-4) early in the first quarter, the Bears used a 10-0 run to open up a 14-5 lead. Sophomore forward Kayla Carter (Beverly, Mass.) scored the last six points of the run on three baseline jumpers. Bridgewater would ultimately hold a 20-13 advantage at the end of one.
Three straight layups, one by junior guard Olivia DelGrosso (Ledyard, Conn.) and two from freshman forward Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.), extended the BSU lead to 26-13 early in the second quarter. The Bears would maintain a double-digit advantage for the rest of the game.
An 11-2 run to close out the second quarter gave the Bears a 47-23 lead at the break. DaSilva tallied seven points during the spurt including a three-pointer.
Page scored 14 points over the first two quarters, while DaSilva added 11. Bridgewater shot 60% (21-35) in the first half and outrebounded the Leopards by a margin of 21-11. The Bears also forced 13 turnovers.
Freshman forward Stephanie Mini (Topsfield, Mass.) paced Wentworth with seven first-half points. The Leopards shot just 30% (7-23) from the floor over the first 20 minutes, but did manage to connect on 4 of 10 (40%) three-pointer field goals.
The Bears continued to pull away in the second half as they led 64-31 at the end of three and got up by as many as 38 points (69-31) in the fourth quarter.
Bridgewater held a 41-19 rebounding advantage (12-4 offensive) and shot 54% (30-56) for the game, 33% (4-12) from three-point range and 82% (9-11) at the charity stripe. The Bears finished with a 34-12 edge in points in the paint.
Both teams turned the ball over 20 times in the contest with nine of the Bears' 20 miscues coming in the fourth quarter with the game no longer in the balance.
Wentworth shot 32% (15-47) for the game including 4-for-19 (21%) from behind the arc. The Leopards also knocked down 10 of 11 (91%) free throws.
Sophomore guard Emily Magasic (West Milford, N.J.) was the only Wentworth player to finish in double-figure scoring as she netted 11 points in 12 minute off the bench. Magasic was a perfect 5-for-5 at the line.
Bridgewater State is off until the end of the month when the Bears compete at the Land of Magic Classic in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bridgewater takes on Wellesley College on Thursday, December 28th (3:00 PM) and Bridgewater College on Friday, December 29th (11:00 AM). Wentworth returns to action on Thursday, January 4th (5:30 PM) when the Leopards travel to Roger Williams University for a Commonwealth Coach Conference game with the Hawks.