SALEM, Mass. -- Senior guard Caitlin Feeney (Providence, MA) poured in a career-high 27 points, including the 1,000th of her career, to lead the Bridgewater State College women's basketball team to a 66-53 win over Salem State in a battle of the top two teams in the MASCAC. Both teams entered the evening tied for the league's top spot with 9-1 conference records.
Feeney became the 13th player in Bridgewater State women's basketball history to score 1,000 points in a BSC uniform as she knocked home the milestone bucket at the 11:14 mark of the first half. She entered the game needing just four points to reach the milestone. Feeney is now tied for ninth place on the Bears all-time scoring list with 1,023 points.
BSC also received another double-double from senior center Colleen Feeney (Providence, RI) as she tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds to go along with 4 blocked shots. Feeney, who has posted a double-double in 21 of the Bears' 23 games this season, reached the 1,000-point milestone back on January 17th against UMass Boston.
The Bears, who defeated the Lady Vikings 55-54 at Bridgewater on January 31st, won the battle for first by jumping out to a 32-23 halftime lead and never relinquishing it over the game's final 20 minutes. The Feeney duo lit the Lady Vikings up for 25 of BSC's first 32 points and 46 of the Bear's 66 points.
Bridgewater was outstanding from the foul line connecting on 21 of 25 (84%) free throw attempts. The Bears limited Salem to just 22% shooting for the game as the Lady Vikings were just 16-for-72 from the floor and 0-for-10 behind the arc.
Senior guard Justine Farroba (North Attleboro, MA) added 11 points for the winners, who also received a game-high and career-high 13 rebounds from junior forward Ashley Coucci (Dartmouth, MA). Along with her game-high 27 points, Caitlin Feeney also finished with a double-double as she pulled down 11 boards.
SSC was led by sophomore center Danielle Jenkins (Marlborough, MA) who scored a team-high 18 followed by sophomore guard Jakoya Wilkins (Dorchester, MA) and sophomore forward Katie Bielonko (Chicopee, MA) with eight points apiece. Senior guard Melissa Macchi (Peabody, MA) collected a team-high nine boards for the Lady Vikings.
Bridgewater (19-4) wraps up the regular season on Saturday afternoon at 1 as the Bears host Fitchburg State in a critical MASCAC contest. With a win, the Bears would capture the MASCAC regular season title outright and would earn a first round bye in next week's conference tournament. The top seed would also host the tournament semifinals and championship game.