Preseason Favorite Bridgewater State Women Off to Another Strong Start in Basketball Under Casey
By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team has put together an impressive start to this season.
Despite facing a challenging non-conference schedule that has included three tournaments and only one home game, the Bears stand at 7-2.
"Looking at the strength of schedule going in, I thought it might be a different outcome than the record we have," said Bridgewater State women's basketball coach Bridgett Casey. "But the kids are playing very well. I'm not totally surprised by what we've done. The team has been clicking and the players have been working really hard."
The Bears went 2-0 at the Mariner Classic, hosted by Maine Maritime Academy, to open the season and were also 2-0 at the Williams Holiday Classic. BSU defeated host Williams, 61-60, which was ranked No. 22 in the national Div. 3 poll at the time.
The two losses came against Rhode Island College, which is 7-3, and Tufts University, 67-66, in the Bears' only home game. Tufts is off to a 10-0 start and is ranked 10th in the nation.
"We wanted to play a tough non-league schedule and be ready for the conference in January," said Casey. "We're looking to play quality teams, and to be winning games like we have been is good.
"We've had good team in the past, but confidence-wise, this team knows that it is in every game that it plays. In the past, we didn't have that experience where we knew how to win."
BSU won the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament the past two seasons to earn spots in the NCAA tourney. This winter, the Bears were the preseason pick by the coaches to win the MASCAC.
After losing two starters to graduation in Shelly DePina and Monica-Sabina Bharoocha, BSU has picked up where it left off a year ago when the Bears went 19-8 for the second straight season.
BSU won its seventh game on Tuesday afternoon to open the Hampton Inn/Naismith Classic, defeating Eastern Connecticut State, 56-53, and will play host Springfield College in the title game at 3 p.m. today.
The Bears open the MASCAC schedule on Saturday afternoon at Fitchburg State University.
BSU has used a balanced attack on offense with starters Michaele Cosby (14.7 points, 6.8 rebounds), Megan Boutilette (12.8 points, 8.2 rebounds), Elisha Homich (10.6 points), Jenna Williamson (10.1 points) and Colleen Hanscom (seven points, 4.3 rebounds) leading the way.
Defensively, the Bears are allowing just 58.1 points and have 120 steals while forcing 216 turnovers. Boutilette has 35 steals while Cosby has 21, Williamson 19 and Homich 18.
"Overall, our team defense is our No.1 biggest improvement," said Casey. "We have a couple of individuals who are great defenders, but as a whole, we are doing a great job. We are feeding off each other and it is making it easier for us on offense, allowing us to get easier baskets."
The Bears do not play their second home game of the season until Westfield State University visits the Tinsley Center on Jan. 12. BSU has 12 of its first 13 games on the road and is playing only eight home games all season.
With a veteran team that is coming off back-to-back MASCAC titles, Casey likes the way the Bears have gotten their season going.
"My hope is we keep fine-tuning for the Fitchburg game," said Casey. "We know how hard we have to work. We've got two championships under our belt and we know what needs to be done."