By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- For the third time in four seasons, the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team is off to a 4-0 start in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Bears remained in sole possession of first place by coasting past the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 74-26, on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

BSU (5-9 overall) will next play Westfield State University, one of three teams tied for second place with a 3-1 record.

The Bears never trailed against MCLA (0-9, 0-3 in the MASCAC), bolting to a 20-2 lead after one quarter and leading, 40-9, at the break.

BSU scored 27 points off 32 turnovers by the Trailblazers, who made only one first-half field goal and had 11 first-quarter turnovers.

The Bears have won 28 straight games over the Trailblazers and are 80-8 in a series that began in the 1983-84 season.

Freshman center Emilie von der Linden led BSU with 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting and added eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.

The two-time MASCAC Rookie of the Week attempted and made the first 3-pointer of her collegiate career.

Junior Sophie Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) was in double figures with 10 points and added five assists and a pair of steals.

Sophomore Bridgitt O'Sullivan-Van Etten (Cumberland, R.I.) also scored 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting and grabbed four rebounds.

Sophomore Caitlyn Clark (Clifton, Va.) had seven rebounds, including five offensive, in 13 minutes while sophomore Reese Bartlett (Norwood, Mass.) had a team-high four steals.

MCLA had one player in double figures as senior Hailey Peabody (West Springfield, Mass.) scored 10 points and contributed 14 rebounds and five steals. The double-double marked her second of the season.

BSU made 41 percent of its shots and was 6-for-21 on 3-pointers while committing only 12 turnovers and totaling 20 steals.

The Bears limited MCLA to 17 percent shooting (7-for-41), and the Trailblazers missed 14 of 15 shots from 3-point range.

BSU raced to a 14-0 lead and held MCLA without a field goal in the first quarter, which ended with the Bears on top by 18 points.

Six different players scored to tally the 14 points in the opening 7:01 while MCLA missed six shots and had 11 turnovers in that span.

The Trailblazers got on the scoreboard with 1:46 to go when Peabody made a pair of foul shots to make it 14-2.

O'Sullivan-Van Etten led the Bears with six points in the quarter.

BSU had its first 20-point lead 25 seconds into the second quarter on a layup by O'Sullivan-Van Etten.

MCLA's first field goal of the game was from Peabody, who hit a jumper with 41 seconds to go in the half, making it 38-9.

The Trailbalzers were 1-for-19 in the half and missed all eight 3-pointers.

BSU extended the lead to 53-18 after three quarters with von der Linden scoring seven points in the period.

Sophomore Chloe Azoff (Sandwich, Mass.) hit three 3-pointers and scored nine points to lead BSU in the final quarter when the Bears outscored MCLA, 21-7.

BSU meets Westfield State on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. as it continues a stretch of four of five games at home.

MCLA will entertain Framingham State on Wednesday at 5 p.m.