BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – All four seniors scored in double figures as the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team celebrated Senior Day with an 89-61 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center. The game also marked the regular season finale for both teams.
The Bears improve to 13-12 on the season and 8-4 in the MASCAC, while the Falcons fall to 9-16 overall and 2-10 in conference play. Bridgewater is the #3 seed in next week's MASCAC Tournament while Fitchburg is the #6 seed. The two teams will meet again at the Tinsley Center on Tuesday night at 7:30 in the tournament's opening round.
BSU seniors Kailyn Aguiar (Acushnet, Mass.), Danielle Arcidiacono (Bellingham, Mass.), Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Olivia DelGrosso (Ledyard, Conn.) were honored prior to the start of the game.
Aguiar recorded her ninth double-double of the season as she tallied 18 rebounds and 11 boards (six offensive) to go along with two assists and a game-best three blocked shots. Arcidiacono scored a career-high 20 points and added a pair of steals, while DaSilva filled the stat sheet with 16 points, four rebounds, four steals and a game-best eight assists. DelGrosso checked in with ten points, four caroms, four assists and four steals.
With her 16 points, DaSilva increased her career total to 963.
Sophomore forward Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) also recorded a double-double, her fourth of the season, in 21 minutes off the bench for the Bears. Fitzgerald notched 12 points and 11 rebounds (six offensive) as well as a career-best five assists.
Junior guard Angelina Marazzi (Manchester, N.H.) recorded 16 points and five assists to lead the way for the Fitchburg State, while classmate Catherine Coppinger (Dorchester, Mass.) finished three assists shy of a triple double as she tallied ten points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Sophomore guard Chloe Roberts (Hanson, Mass.) added 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench for the Falcons.
Trailing 11-9 with 2 ½ minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Bears closed out the period with a 10-0 run. Four different players scored during the spurt led by four points from Fitzgerald.
A Coppinger layup pulled the Falcons to within 23-19 with 6:56 left to play in the second quarter. The Bears' defensive pressure then helped launch a 14-0 run over the next four minutes as Bridgewater took control of the game. Arcidiacono scored six straight points and Bridgewater forced seven turnovers during the run. The Bears would ultimately take a 45-24 lead into the break.
BSU's suffocating defense forced 14 turnovers over the first two quarters and held the Falcons to 31% (9-29) shooting, while the Bears shot 49% (21-43) from the floor. Arcidiacono scored 11 points over the first 20 minutes to lead all players while Aguiar added ten.
Fitchburg scored the first four points of the third quarter (45-28) and kept the Bears off the scoreboard until the 6:31 mark. Bridgewater then used a 13-3 run, led by six points from Aguiar, over the next four minutes to pull ahead 58-31 and put the game out of reach. Junior guard Nicole Bostick (Taunton, Mass.) capped off the spurt with a trifecta. The Bears got up by as many as 34 points (87-53) in the fourth quarter before coasting to the 89-61 victory.
Bridgewater shot 49% (38-78) for the game, held a 46-37 rebounding advantage (20-14 offensive) and forced 25 turnovers. The Bears dominated the inside game outscoring the Falcons, 60-26, in the paint. Bridgewater also finished with a decided edge in both second chance points (20-6) and points off turnovers (29-12).