Women's Basketball Downs MCLA, 82-53, in Regular Season Finale

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The visiting Bridgewater State University women's basketball team rode a strong second half to pull away from the MCLA Trailblazers, 82-53, in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears outscored the Trailblazers 52-28 over the final 20 minutes to improve to 12-12 on the season and finish at 9-3 in the MASCAC. MCLA ends the regular season at 13-12 and 4-8 in conference play.

Both teams will compete in the first round of the MASCAC Tournament on Tuesday evening. The third-seeded Bears will entertain #6 Worcester State University at 5:30, while the fourth-seeded Trailblazers will host #5 Salem State University at six.

The Bears placed three players in double figures led by sophomore guard Jennifer Whyte (Braintree, Mass.) who scored a game-high 17 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Junior forward Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) posted a double-double with 13 points on 6 of 8 shooting to go along with ten rebounds, while junior forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) added 12 points, six rebounds and a game-high four steals.

The Bears used a 9-0 run in the final 2:29 of the second quarter to take a 30-25 advantage into the break. BSU carried the momentum into the second half as the Bears moved out to a double digit lead for the first time on a three-pointer from junior guard Stephanie DeSantis (Walpole, Mass.) at the 8:54 mark of the third quarter. Later in the period, the Bears outscored the Trailblazers 18-5 during a five-minute stretch to open up a 57-37 lead and put the game out of reach.

Bridgewater outscored MCLA 31-16 in the third quarter and 52-28 in the second half.

Junior forward Kayla Hotaling (Ravena, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to pace the Trailblazer. Thirteen of her team-best 15 points came in the first half. Freshman guard Karina Mattera (Johnson, R.I.) added 11 points for the hosts, while freshman forward L'Rae Brundige (Valley Falls, N.Y.) tallied ten points in 26 minutes off the bench.

Bridgewater shot 46% (32-69) from the field, 41% (7-17) from behind the arc and 73% (11-15) at the free throw line. The Bears forced 24 turnovers and held the edge in points off turnovers (25-11), points in the paint (36-26), second chance points (11-4) and bench points (38-15).

MCLA connected on 39% (21-54) of its field goal attempts and went 3-for-13 (23%) from three-point range and just 8-for-20 (40%) at the charity stripe.