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Women's Basketball Advances to MASCAC Tournament Semifinals with 89-68 Win over Fitchburg State

Women's Basketball Advances to MASCAC Tournament Semifinals with 89-68 Win over Fitchburg State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore forward Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) scored 18 points to lead third-seeded Bridgewater State University to an 89-68 victory over #6 Fitchburg State University in the opening round of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears (14-12) advance to the tournament semifinal round and will travel to #2 Westfield State University on Thursday night to take on the Owls at 7:30. Bridgewater is now 5-1 all-time against Fitchburg in the MASCAC Tournament including 4-0 at home. The Falcons end the season with an overall record of 9-17.

Fitzgerald connected on 7 of 9 field goal attempts and added eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.

Freshman guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) checked in with 13 points for the Bears as she equaled her career-high. Senior forward Kailyn Aguiar (Acushnet, Mass.) notched eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds (six offensive) as well as two steals and a block in 16 minutes off the bench, while freshman guard Maggie Hester (Braintree, Mass.) registered a career-best seven assists and six rebounds.  

Junior guard Angelina Marazzi (Manchester, N.H.) paced the visiting Falcons with a game-best 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting, including 5-for-6 from three-point range, to go along with five rebounds.

The Bears opened the game with a 13-0 run and led 27-6 after one quarter of play. Dziadyk tallied 13 of Bridgewater's first 15 points of the contest on a trio of three-pointers, a jumper and a layup. The Bears got up by as many as 27 points (33-6) in the second period and held a 45-20 lead at the break.

Fitzgerald led all players with 14 points over the first two quarters, while Dziadyk notched 13. Marazzi paced the Falcons with 11 first-half points.

The Bears shot 53% (19-35) in the first half including 5-for-10 (50%) from behind the arc, while the Falcons shot 17% (5-29) from the floor and went just 1-for-11 (9%) from long range.

Four three-pointers by the Falcons in the third quarter, including pair from Marazzi, helped close the gap to 15 (56-41) with 2:54 remaining. The Bears, however, reeled off a 9-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer and long jumper from senior guard Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.), to push the lead back up to 24, 65-41. Bridgewater would take a 65-43 advantage into the final quarter and maintained at least a 20-point advantage throughout the period.

Twelve different players scored for the Bears who shot 49% (34-70) for the game, 47% (7-15) from behind the arc and 78% (14-18) at the line. Bridgewater finished with a 47-35 rebounding advantage (17-13 offensive) and held the edge in second chance points (17-4), points in the paint (44-28) and points off turnovers (23-17). The BSU bench also outscored the Fitchburg reserves, 37-10.

Senior guard Danielle Arcidiacono (Bellingham, Mass.), junior forward Kayla Carter (Beverly, Mass.) and junior guard Nicole Bostick (Taunton, Mass.) chipped in with nine points apiece for the Bears. Carter also added six rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block, while Bostick contributed four assists and a block.

After a tough first 20 minutes, the Falcons bounced back to shoot 56% (19-34) in the second half including 7-for-8 (88%) from three-point land. Junior guard Emma Thomson (York, Maine) added 11 points and four boards for the visitors.