Women's Basketball Advances to MASCAC Title Game with 72-46 Win Over Westfield

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- There will be a rematch in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament championship game this weekend.

Top-seeded Bridgewater State University, riding an 11-game winning streak will host second-seeded Framingham State University on Saturday at noon from the Tinsley Center.

One year ago, the Bears were the No. 2 seed and lost to the top-seeded Rams in Framingham, 74-62.

BSU advanced to its fourth straight MASCAC title game on Thursday night by eliminating fourth-seeded Westfield State University, 72-46, with another stellar defensive performance.

The rematch became official minutes later when Framingham State held off third-seeded Salem State, 66-63.

"These seniors know what they want,'' said BSU coach Bridgett Casey after her team improved to 18-6. "We got them in the regular season, but now it's for a championship. It's just nice to be home.''

The win over Westfield State improved the Bears to 12-3 at the Tinsley Center. BSU has won 19 straight MASCAC tournament home games since losing to the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Feb. 26, 2010.

The Bears are on their first 11-game winning streak since Jan. 19-March 1, 2013, last losing in the MASCAC opener to Salem State on Jan. 8.

Against Westfield State, BSU shut down the top scoring team in the conference, holding the Owls well below their 78.3 average.

The Bears were led by senior Jordan Peebles (Middleboro, Mass.), who came off the bench to score 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting to go with 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Senior Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) added 11 points and six rebounds.

Senior Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) scored nine points and had eight rebounds and four steals. Grassi became the tenth player in program history to reach the 200-steal milestone.

Junior Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, N.Y.) added nine points, seven rebounds and three assists while senior Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) had eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks.

BSU held the conference's second-leading scorer, senior Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine), to eight points on 1-for-7 shooting.

Westfield State held a 17-15 lead after one quarter, then was limited to seven, 11 and 11 points in the next three quarters.

"Our team defense was great," said Casey. "The defense has been so solid. When we have our press on and it's working, we can capitalize and finish on the other end.

"We were solid defensively. Super proud of them. When we are defending like that, good things are going to happen."

BSU, which had not played in a week, was a bit sluggish in the opening minutes and was behind 11-5 and 17-11.

But the Bears got a 3-pointer from Grassi and a foul shot from Peebles in the closing 1:27 to get within 17-15.

BSU dominated the rest of the way, outscoring the Owls (16-10) in the second quarter, 22-7, for a 37-24 halftime lead.

Peebles had 10 points and eight rebounds in 15 first-half minutes to help key the surge.

"She was solid," said Casey. "Coming off the bench with her energy and her court awareness defensively really helped. She was that free safety. That was a solid double-double from her."

BSU opened the second quarter on a 17-2 run for a 32-19 lead and the Owls never threatened.

The advantage was 51-35 going into the final quarter and the Owls made just 26 percent of their shots, going 6-for-30 from 3-point range.

After the first quarter when Westfield State went 6-for-15 from the floor, the Bears held the Owls to 11-for-50 shooting.

Defense has been the key during BSU's 11-game winning streak, and it was on full display as the Owls had 22 turnovers leading to 25 points.

"I think our press wore them down," said Casey. "They had to play (a quarterfinal-round game) on Tuesday and went to the wire with Worcester.

"Now we're going to need another 40 minutes of solid defense."

BSU swept the regular-season series from Framingham State, winning on the road on Jan. 11, 77-57, and at home on Feb. 5, 72-53.

This marks the fourth straight year that BSU has ended Westfield State's season, including a comeback victory over the Owls in the 2023 MASCAC title game.

The Bears will be bidding for an eighth MASCAC tourney championship while the Rams are seeking their fourth title in five seasons.