Rice Leads Women's Basketball to 92-59 MASCAC Win Over Salem State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore guard Eryn Rice (Medway, Mass.) scored a career-high 22 points off the bench to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a decisive 92-59 victory over visiting Salem State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 10-4 on the season and 2-0 in the MASCAC, while the Vikings fall to 6-9 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Bridgewater has won each of the last nine meetings of the two teams.

Rice connected on 8 of 14 field goal attempts including 5-for-8 from behind the arc in 25 minutes of action. She also added five rebounds, four assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

The Bears also received 11 points, seven rebounds (four offensive), two assists, a steal and block from senior forward Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) as well as 11 points, two rebounds and two assists from sophomore forward Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.). Senior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) checked in with ten points, five rebounds four assists and two steals.

Senior forward Liz Zaiter (Peabody, Mass.) paced Salem State with 16 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Alyssa Genness (Belgrade, Maine) tallied 13 points and freshman forward Ernidia Goncalves (Everett, Mass.) recorded nine points, eight boards, three steals and three blocks. Junior guard Erika Cheever (Revere, Mass.) chipped in with ten points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and block in 23 minutes off the bench.

Trailing 13-10 with under three minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Bears closed out the period with a 15-4 run to take control of the game. Sophomore center Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) started the run with back-to-back layups, while Rice drained a pair of trifectas and Gaucher also connected from behind the arc.

Bridgewater carried the momentum into the second quarter outscoring the Vikings 29-13 in the period to take a 54-30 lead into the break.

Rice scored 13 of her 22 points in the first half, while Grassi tallied ten points. Zaiter notched 12 points over the first 20 minutes.

The Bears pulled away in the second half as they led 78-46 after three and got up by as many as 41 points (89-48) in the fourth quarter.

All 11 Bears scored in the game. D'Amours finished with eight points, seven rebounds (four offensive), two steals and two blocks in 15 minutes off the bench. Sophomore forward Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) chipped in with a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with seven points. Junior guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) contributed nine points, six boards and a game-best five assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Kayla Thomas (North Falmouth, Mass.) pulled down eight rebounds.

The Bears shot 46.7% (35-75) from the floor, including 8-for-20 (40%) from three-point range, and went 14-for-24 (58.3%) at the free throw line. Bridgewater finished with a 61-37 rebounding advantage and held the edge in second chance points (23-10) as well as points in the paint (50-24), The BSU bench also outscored the Salem reserves, 46-12.

The Vikings connected on just 28% (21-75) of their field goal attempts and went 5-for-20 (25%) from behind the arc and 12-for-16 (75%) at the charity stripe.

The Bears are back in action on Monday evening when they host Wheaton College at six o'clock. The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Wednesday night at 7:30. The Bears travel to Worcester State University to take on the Lancers, while the Vikings head to Westfield State University to battle the Owls.