Grassi Leads Women's Basketball to 71-64 Win Over Wheaton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore forward Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 71-64 victory over visiting Wheaton College on Monday night at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 11-4 on the season with their fourth straight win, while the Lyons fall to 10-5. Bridgewater State now holds a 7-6 lead in the all-time series.

Grassi connected on 8 of 17 field goals attempts, including a pair of three-pointers, and went 7-for-8 at the free throw line. She also added eight rebounds (four offensive), two assists and a blocked shot.

The Bears also received 13 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal from senior forward Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) as well as nine points four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 22 minutes off the bench from sophomore guard Eryn Rice (Medway, Mass.). Junior guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) added a season-high nine assists to go along with six rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes of action off the pine.

Sophomore guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) paced Wheaton with 18 points, three rebounds, four assists and a block, while freshman forward Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) checked in with nine points and a game-best 14 rebounds (three offensive) and freshman guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) notched nine points and eight boards.

The Bears held the Lyons to just two points over the final six minutes of the first quarter and closed out the period with a 15-0 run to take a 26-9 lead into the second stanza. Five different players scored during the run which was highlighted by three-pointers from Grassi and Rice.

Wheaton turned things around in the second quarter outscoring the Bears 23-13 in the period to cut the deficit to seven (39-32) heading into halftime. Fernandes tallied 12 of her team-best 18 points in the second quarter including a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

Grassi paced Bridgewater State with ten points over the first 20 minutes.

The Bears shot 45.7% (16-35) in the first half, including 3-for-6 (50%) from behind the arc, and forced 13 turnovers. The Lyons connected on 44.4% (12-27) of their first half field goal attempts and went 5-for-8 from three-point range.

An 18-4 BSU run to open the second half gave the Bears their biggest lead of the game at 21 points (57-36) with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter. Grassi scored ten points during the run which began with a three-pointer by senior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.( three-pointer and ended with a Gaucher trifecta. The Lyons, however, closed out the third quarter with an 11-2 run, highlighted by a three-pointer by sophomore guard Riley Sprague (Jamestown, R.I.) and four points from Walters, to close the gap to 59-47 heading into the final period.

The Bears maintained the double-digit advantage until the 3:44 mark of the fourth quarter when junior forward Emma Kiernan (Wayland, Mass.) drained a three-pointer to make it an eight-point game (64-56). Gaucher answered for the Bears with a three-pointer and a layup to push the BSU lead to 69-56 with 2:39 left to play. Back-to-back three-pointers by Kiernan and Walters cut the Wheaton deficit to seven (69-62) with just 59 seconds showing on the scoreboard, but that would be as close as the Lyons would get as Gaucher knocked down a pair of free throws to secure the victory for the host.

The Bears forced 23 turnovers for the game and committed just seven which led to a decided 28-8 advantage in points off turnover. Bridgewater also held a 34-18 edge in points in the paint.

The Bears shot 37% (27-73) from the floor for the game and finished 7-for-19 (36.8%) from behind the arc and 10-for-15 (66.7%) at the free throw line. The Lyons converted on 41% (25-61) of their field goal attempts, including 9-for-20 (45%) from three-point range. Wheaton made just seven trips (5-for-7) to the charity stripe.

The Lyons held a 49-39 rebounding advantage and finished with a 14-6 edge in second chance points.

Bridgewater State is back in action on Wednesday night as the Bears travel to Worcester State University for a 7:30 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) game with the Lancers. Wheaton opens New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday afternoon when they host Springfield College at one o'clock.