By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team opened the 2025-26 season in an emotional setting Wednesday night.
Prior to the first game against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, the Bears held a remembrance of assistant coach Henry Colon, who died on July 6 at the age of 50 from cancer.
Colon had been an assistant to head coach Bridgett Casey for seven years after being the head girls varsity coach at Middleboro High and Sturgis Charter School.
Casey and first-year volunteer assistant coach Kylee Piche, who finished her BSU playing career last winter, offered their memories of Colon to the crowd a short time before tip-off.
The Bears, who are dedicating the season to Colon, then went out and had an impressive debut, defeating the Corsairs, 73-56.
A pair of players came off the bench to lead the Bears as sophomore Bridgitt O'Sullivan-Van Etten (Cumberland, R.I.) had 14 points and seven rebounds and junior Sophie Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) added 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
BSU has four new starters after the program's all-time leading scorer Kylie Grassi, Arielle Cleveland, Jessica D'Amours and Piche finished their careers last March.
"We've got a lot to learn, a lot to work on, but I thought it was a great team win on a special, emotional night for Henry," said Casey. "I'm glad his family (including wife Deborah and their children) was able to be here. He's looking down on us every single day."
BSU took the lead for good at 13-12 on two foul shots by O'Sullivan-Van Etten with 2:35 left in the opening quarter.
The Bears were up, 18-12, after one quarter and led by as many as 14 in the second quarter before holding a 36-30 halftime edge.
BSU took a 51-44 lead into the final 10 minutes when it outscored the Corsairs (0-2), 22-12, to pull away.
"Obviously, UMass Dartmouth is very athletic, very competitive every year we play them," said Casey. "I thought we made some great halftime adjustments after we let them back in the door a little bit in the second quarter."
The Bears opened the final quarter on a 12-2 run for a 63-46 lead with 5:16 to go. O'Sullivan-Van Etten scored the first five points, junior Ashleigh Johnson (Carver, Mass.) converted a three-point play and senior Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, N.Y.) and freshman Emilie von der Linden (Sanbornville, N.H.) added layups.
The lead was as high as 19 points, and the Corsairs never got closer than 14 down the stretch.
"When we moved the ball around and played team offense, we looked really, really good," said Casey. "There were times where we took that one quick shot within five seconds after coming over half court and let them go the other way if we missed."
The scoring was spread out with only O'Sullivan-Van Etten and Bradbury cracking double figures while playing 18 and 32 minutes, respectively, in reserve roles.
von der Linde had nine points, six rebounds and three blocks in her first collegiate game. Burchhardt added seven points, six rebounds and two assists, Johnson contributed six points and seven assists while freshman Savannah Azoff (Sandwich, Mass.) scored eight points to go with five points and two steals.
"This is the type of team we are," said Casey. "There's no Kylie Grassi. The points are going to have to come from multiple people. We know that as a coaching staff. We'll have people step up on any given night and they just have to do your job. Don't try to do too much."
The game included 54 turnovers, 30 by UMass Dartmouth which led to 28 BSU points.
Graduate student Yasmine Santos (Pawtucket, R.I.) led the Corsairs, who host Smith College next Wednesday at 7 p.m., with 19 points and six rebounds.
The Bears are home again on Wednesday night against Amherst College at 6 p.m. The Mammoths went 20-8 and reached the second round of the NCAAs last season.
It will be another step in a season dedicated to the memory of Colon by BSU.
"He did so much for us," said Casey. "He passed on a lot to the coaches and players. Kylee Piche said it, this was his second family.
"He was amazing. He was a gentleman. He was always there for the players. Even last year (despite being ill), he never missed a day. There were days in practices that were hard and you'd turn to him and say, 'You want to sit out?' And he'd say, "I need to be here.' He was there every road trip, every game."