BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) and freshman forward Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) each recorded double-doubles to lead second-seeded Bridgewater State University to a 79-40 victory over #7 seed MCLA in the opening round of the 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 19-7 on the season with their ninth straight win and will advance to the MASCAC Tournament semifinal round. Bridgewater will host #3 Westfield State University on Thursday night (TBD). MCLA ends the season with an overall record of 1-23.

Fitzgerald scored a game-high 20 points on 10 of 20 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds with nine coming off the offensive glass. Cleveland tallied 11 points and notched a career-high 16 rebounds with seven offensive boards in 19 minutes off the bench.

Junior guard Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) checked in with 11 points, two steals and one blocked shot for the Bears. Gaucher also recorded a career-best nine rebounds (three offensive) and five assists.

Junior guard Brooke DiGennaro (Pittsfield, Mass.) paced the visiting Trailblazers with 13 points, eight rebounds and a game-best four steals, while classmate Maddie Teta (Troy, N.Y.) added 15 points and four rebounds.

The Bears, who won the two regular season contests against MCLA by a combined 111 points, got off to a slow start and trailed 17-10 after the first quarter. Bridgewater, however, dominated play the rest of the way holding the visitors to single digits in each of the last three periods. The Bears outscored the Trailblazers, 69-23, over the final 30 minutes and coasted to the victory.

Bridgewater shot 41% (35-85) for the game and went 5-for-21 (24%) from behind the arc and just 4-for-12 (33%) at the free throw line. The Bears finished with a decided 68-32 rebounding advantage, including a 32-7 edge on the offensive glass, and outscored the Trailblazers 54-10 in the paint.

MCLA converted just 26% (13-51) of its field goal attempts and went 2-for-17 (12%) from three-point range and 12-for-21 (57%) at the charity stripe.

Notes: Bridgewater is now 75-8 all-time versus MCLA dating back to the 1983-1984 campaign. The Bears have also won each of the last 23 meetings between the two teams….The Bears and the Trailblazers were facing off in the MASCAC Tournament for the first time since 2012 and for the seventh time overall….Bridgewater is 5-2 all-time versus MCLA in MASCAC Tournament play.