Women's Basketball Downs Elms,71-64, in Overtime

CHICOPEE, Mass. -- Sophomore forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) scored 18 points and junior guard Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass.) added 17 to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 71-64 overtime victory over Elms College on Wednesday evening.

Lindland connected on 8 of 13 field goal attempts and also notched five rebounds, two assists, three blocks and four steals. Conceicao finished with five assists, a block and two steals in addition to her 17 points.

Elms senior forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) connected on a three-pointer with :05 left in the second half to send the game into the extra session.

Bridgewater came out quick, starting the game on a 11-1 run. The Bears had their largest lead of the contest when junior guard Stephanie DeSantis (Walpole, Mass) stole the ball and banked in a layup to go up 21-10. Elms narrowed the lead to six (31-25) to end the half.

The Blazers came out strong in the second half when Parks forced a turnover and scored on a fast break. Elms then went on a 10-4 run to knot the game at 35-35 with 14:53 remaining in the game.

The Blazers took their first their first lead of the night when Parks found Octavia McAllister (Springfield, Mass) in the paint to go ahead 37-35.  The two teams played back-and-fourth basketball until sophomore guard Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) buried a three to bring the score to 49-45. Junior guard Mariah Brown (Windsor Locks, Conn.) then knocked down a free throw to stake the hosts to their largest lead of the game at 50-45 with 6:11 remaining.

Bridgewater battled back and retained the lead with 4:10 left to play when Conceicao hit a layup. The Bears were up 53-50 with 18 seconds remaining, but the Blazers weren't finished. Brown found Parks in the corner, and she buried the three to tie the game with just five seconds left on the clock.

The overtime started with Parks sinking two free throws, but Bridgewater came back with a 10-2 run. The Bears outscored Elms 14-7 in overtime with Conceicao scoring six points in the extra session and Lindland and senior guard Melissa Daigle (Rockland, Mass.)  tallying four apiece.

Parks led the team with a team high 20 points and 14 rebounds while adding a pair of steals. Senior forward JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass) also turned in a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks and a steal.

The Bears shot 40% (28-70) for the game and just 1-for-14 (7%) from behind the arc as well as 14-for-28 (50%) at the free throw line. The Blazers shot 32.9% (23-70)  from the floor including 4-for-13 from three-point range and 14-for-22 (64%) at the charity stripe.

Elms dominated the boards as the Blazers held a 62-36 rebounding advantage.  It was the Bears, however, who held the 50-34 edge in points in the paint.

Bridgewater forced 34 turnovers and scored 23 points off of the Elms' miscues.

Elms falls to 0-3 on the season while Bridgewater improves to 2-1. The Blazers travel to Anna Maria College on Saturday afternoon at one, while the Bears host Colorado College on Saturday evening at six.