By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Six weeks ago, the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team began the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule with a double-digit loss at home.
The Bears, the preseason pick to win the conference title, were stopped by Salem State University by 11 points.
It was a stunning start to the MASCAC season for BSU just eight days into 2025.
A month and a half later, however, the conference schedule is complete for the Bears and they rolled through the rest of the regular season following that loss to Salem State.
BSU finished the MASCAC with a 9-1 record, running the table the rest of the way and ending with a convincing 81-52 victory over Westfield State University at the Tinsley Center Wednesday night.
The Bears (17-6), who clinched first place last weekend, will be the No. 1 seed in the MASCAC tournament. They will be idle until hosting a semifinal-round game at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27 against an opponent to be determined next Tuesday night.
BSU will enter the postseason on a 10-game winning streak after capturing the program's ninth conference regular season crown.
It is the fourth winning streak of at least 10 games for the Bears since Bridgett Casey became the head coach in the 1997-98 season and the first since winning 10 in a row in 2022.
"We had locked in No. 1 in the standings," said Casey, "but that wasn't on their mind tonight. They wanted to be 9-1. They had that hiccup at the beginning of the year with Salem and they wanted to end on a high and really make a statement.
"They did a great job defensively tonight. I'm super proud of them tonight. They showed up and knew exactly what they wanted. They were already at the top, but they wanted 9-1."
It is the first time since the 2012-13 when BSU went 11-1 that the Bears got through the MASCAC with just one loss.
Senior Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.), the program's all-time leading scorer, led the way with 21 points, hitting three 3-pointers. She also had five assists, five rebounds and a career-best seven steals.
Grassi eclipsed the 1,600-point barrier as she now has 1,611 points in her career.
Also in double figures was junior Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, N.Y.) with 10 points plus six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
Graduate student Kylee Piche (Bridgewater, Mass.) chipped in with nine rebounds, eight points, four assists and two steals.
Senior Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) had nine rebounds, three assists and seven points while senior Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) scored nine points with five rebounds.
Westfield State (14-9, 5-4) was led by reserves Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) with 16 points and Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass.) with 10.
Westfield State's lone lead was 2-0 on a layup by Tavi Williams (Springfield, Mass.) 16 seconds into the game.
The Bears held a 21-10 lead by the end of the opening quarter with Grassi scoring nine of her points.
The Owls shot just 4-for-16 in that quarter while the Bears hit four 3-pointers.
By halftime, BSU had opened a 43-19 advantage as Westfield State was 7-for-30 from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
BSU's lead went over 30 points with 8:13 left in the third quarter at 50-19 on a D'Amours jumper and the closest Westfield State got after that in the second half was 21.
"Defense first is what we strive to do," said Casey. "If we turn them over in the press, it leads to easy buckets. We try to hold teams to 27 points in the first half, then 58 or below in the game. Defense is where it's at."
The Bears will have five practice days to prepare for next Thursday's tourney opener.
"We've got some kids with injuries, so we can use the time," said Casey "We'll try to keep it as normal as we can with practices."