By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team began the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule with a nine-game losing streak.
The Bears faced a challenging non-conference schedule in November, December and early January, going 1-9 with the lone victory coming on opening night.
Three weeks after the start of the MASCAC season, though, BSU is now in a much difference place.
The Bears reached the midway point of the conference schedule Wednesday night with an 83-49 victory over Worcester State University at the Tinsley Center, giving them a 7-0 MASCAC record.
BSU (8-9 overall) owns a two-game lead in the standings after running the table in the season's first half.
"It's very nice and I'm not surprised," said coach Bridgett Casey of the turnaround. "We schedule tough non-conference games because I want us to be ready for the conference.
"Some of those losses, we got blown out, but we got better at something each game. The three games before the MASCAC (two in Las Vegas, Nev. and one against nationally ranked Smith College), I really thought we turned a corner in terms of team basketball and running the offense."
The Bears have now won 18 straight MASCAC regular-season and tournament games dating back to a loss against Salem State in January 2025.
In the win over Worcester State (6-12, 3-4 MASCAC), the Bears held a 28-24 halftime lead, then outscored the Lancers, 29-12, in the third quarter to take firm control.
Freshman center Emilie von der Linden (Sanbornville, N.H.) recorded another double-double with 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting plus 10 rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes.
The double-double marked von der Linden's team-leading sixth of the season while the 18 points equaled her season high.
"The difference now is she's a little more confident," said Casey of the improvement in von der Linden's game since the start of the season. "She's strong with the ball. She's enjoying herself."
Sophomore Bridgitt O'Sullivan-Van Etten (Cumberland, R.I.) added 13 points, five rebounds and two steals, making 6 of 8 shots.
"Bridgitt is solid," said Casey. "She's one of those fly-under-the-radar players. She's fundamentally sound and fills the statistical categories."
Sophomore Shania Gardner (Brockton, Mass.) added a career-best 11 points and three steals in 15 minutes off the bench.
Worcester State's top scorer was senior Hannah Lomonaco (Northbridge, Mass.) with 14 points to go with six rebounds, five assisets and three steals.
Junior Alana Smith (Chicopee, Mass.) added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Lancers.
Worcester State held a 13-12 lead after the first quarter despite making only 28 percent of its shots.
The Lancers then went 1-for-10 in the second quarter when BSU took a 28-24 lead at the half.
The Bears dominated the third quarter, making 70 percent of their shots (14-for-20) and opened a 57-37 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
BSU opened the second half on a 23-7 run and was never in danger again.
von der Linden had 10 points in the run while senior Haley Burchhardt (Schenedtady, N.Y.) added six.
The Bears turned up the defensive pressure in the quarter, and that swung things in their favor.
"The focus at halftime was we turned the ball over way too many times in the first half," said Casey. "We gave them a lot of opportunities. It's more shots for them, less shots for us.
"We've got to do a better job. I said the defense and press will set the tone. When we press and are connecting on all cylinders it's going to lead to easy transition buckets and that's what it did.
"It's all about our defense. If we score, your only thought process should be 'I"m not letting you score. And if we don't score, you have the same thought process.'"
BSU was never threatened in the fourth quarter and the Bears wound up making 23 of 33 shots from the field in the last 20 minutes.
BSU connected on 57 percent for the game and was 6-for=14 from 3-point range. Worcester State hit only 25 percnet of its shots and missed 12 of 13 of its 3-pointers.
The Lancers had 25 turnovers while BSU committed 23.
"I feel like we've turned a little bit of a corner," said Casey of the improved play after halftime. "We kept that intensity the whole second half.
"Going into the second round of the season, you're going to need that. Eveyrbody's watching film. If we continue to have that zero at the end of our record, every team is going to bring their best and look to be the first teawm to give us a loss."
The Bears are home again Saturday, entertaining Fitchburg State at noon.
Worcester State will travel to the Mass. College of Liberal Arts for a noon game Saturday.