SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team finished the 2023 portion of its schedule with a loss to a Division I opponent.

Facing a Division I adversary for the first time in coach Bridgett Casey's 27 years at BSU, the Bears were handed a 98-68 setback by Bryant University on Saturday afternoon.

Casey played four seasons (1988-93) and scored 1,000 points at Bryant when it was a Division 2 program in the Northeast-10 Conference.

She was also an assistant coach at Bryant for three seasons and took over the BSU program in 1997.

The homecoming at the Chace Athletic Center did not have a happy ending as the Bears (4-8) fell behind in the opening minutes and never led against the Bulldogs (7-6), who play in the America East Conference.

After giving up 62 first-half points and trailing by 31 at halftime, BSU limited Bryant to 36 second-half points. The Bears trailed by as many as 35 before getting the deficit trimmed to 20 in the final quarter and had a chance to get it to 18.

Junior Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) led the Bears with 22 points while senior Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) contributed 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Grassi, who also contributed three rebounds and three steals, hit the 20-point mark for the eighth time in 12 games this season.

Junior Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) added 11 points for BSU, which was outrebounded, 41-27, and missed 14 of 19 shots from 3-point range.

Bryant was led by freshman Martina Bobo (Argentona, Spain) with 25 points. She made 10 of 15 shots and hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Freshman Mia Mancini (Mansfield, Mass.) added 23 points with five 3-pointers, senior Kemari Reynolds (Manchester, Township, N.J.) had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and freshman Nia Scott (Medford Lakes, N.J.) had 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting and 10 rebounds.

Bryant shot 54 percent from the field, hitting 13 of 30 from long distance, and scored 27 points off 17 BSU turnovers.

Bryant, which has been at the Division 1 level since 2008, held a 16-2 lead just 3:37 into the game and BSU was unable to recover.

The Bears were coming off a two-game trip to Hawaii where they lost to a pair of Division 2 teams, Angelo State of Texas and Hawaii-Hilo, at the Big Island Holiday Classic.

After the Bulldogs scored the first six points, Grassi produced BSU's first points with a layup with 8:17 left in the first quarter. But the Bears missed their other four shots and turned the ball over four times during the 16-2 run by Bryant.

Mancini hit a pair of 3-pointers and Bobo and Scott added two baskets each as part of that spree.

A pair of 3-pointers from senior Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and junior Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) helped get BSU within 23-12, but the Bears were outscored, 10-0, in the final 2:49 of the quarter.

BSU missed the only two shots it took in that span and turned the ball over four more times and trailing, 33-12, after 10 minutes.

Reynolds and Mancini hit 3-pointers in the opening minute of the second quarter to give Bryant a 39-12 advantage before Gaucher made two baskets to get the Bears within 39-16.

That 23-point margin was the closest BSU would get the rest of the first half.

Bryant went up by 30 for the first time at 51-21 with 4:47 remaining in the half, and a 3-pointer by Boba pushed the edge to 57-23 before the Bulldogs took a 62-31 lead into the locker room.

BSU trailed by as many as 35 in the third quarter, but the Bears outscored Bryant, 23-14, in the quarter and pulled within 76-54, going into the final 10 minutes.

The Bears went on an 11-2 run after trailing, 71-38, with 4:30 remaining in the quarter.

Grassi (12 points in the quarter) made three straight layups, Gaucher hit a 3-pointer and D'Amours scored on a layup in a span that lasted 2:31. The Bulldogs called timeout on two occasions.

The Bears moved within 78-58 early in the final quarter when Gaucher made a foul shot and D'Amours converted a three-point play. That was the closest BSU had been since late in the opening quarter.

After BSU trailed, 80-60, Bryant would answer with a 18-3 run, getting the lead back to 98-63 with less than two minutes to go.

The Bears, who have been home only twice through the first 12 games this season, begin the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule on Wednesday. They travel to Salem State University for a 5 p.m. game, then host Framingham State on Saturday at noon.

Bryant begins its second season in America East with a trip to Albany on Thursday night.