After winning their first round contests on Tuesday night, second seed Bridgewater State, third seed Westfield State and fourth seed Worcester State advance to the semifinals of the MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament.

#2 Bridgewater State 79, #7 MCLA 40   Box Score

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) and freshman forward Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) each recorded double-doubles to lead second-seeded Bridgewater State University to a 79-40 victory over #7 MCLA in the opening round of the 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 19-7 on the season with their ninth straight win and will advance to the MASCAC Tournament semifinal round. Bridgewater will host #3 Westfield State University on Thursday night (TBD). MCLA ends the season with an overall record of 1-23.

Fitzgerald scored a game-high 20 points on 10 of 20 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds with nine coming off the offensive glass. Cleveland tallied 11 points and notched a career-high 16 rebounds with seven offensive boards in 19 minutes off the bench.

Junior guard Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) checked in with 11 points, two steals and one blocked shot for the Bears. Gaucher also recorded a career-best nine rebounds (three offensive) and five assists.

Junior guard Brooke DiGennaro (Pittsfield, Mass.) paced the visiting Trailblazers with 13 points, eight rebounds and a game-best four steals, while classmate Maddie Teta (Troy, N.Y.) added 15 points and four rebounds.

The Bears, who won the two regular season contests against MCLA by a combined 111 points, got off to a slow start and trailed 17-10 after the first quarter. Bridgewater, however, dominated play the rest of the way holding the visitors to single digits in each of the last three periods. The Bears outscored the Trailblazers, 69-23, over the final 30 minutes and coasted to the victory.

Bridgewater shot 41% (35-85) for the game and went just 5-for-21 (24%) from behind the arc and 4-for-12 (33%) at the free throw line. The Bears, however, finished with a decided 68-32 rebounding advantage, including a 32-7 edge on the offensive glass, and outscored the Trailblazers 54-10 in the paint.

MCLA converted just 26% (13-51) of its field goal attempts and went 2-for-17 (12%) from three-point range and 12-for-21 (57%) at the charity stripe.

#3 Westfield State 101, #6 Fitchburg State 54   Box Score

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Jordan Grant (Gray, ME) and Alison Mendel (Adams, Mass.) combined for 31 points as third-seeded Westfield State delivered a massive 101-54 win over seventh seed Fitchburg State in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Quarterfinals, on Tuesday evening at the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. 

With this victory, the Owls (15-11) advance to the MASCAC Semifinals to face the number two seed Bridgewater Bears. Fitchburg State sets their sights on next season, after finishing the year 2-21. 

Four players reached double digits for the Owls. Grant led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds, and Mendel was right behind with 15 points, shooting 6-12 from the field. Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.) had an impactful 13 points to go with seven assists. Paris Wilkey (Lynn, Mass.) was the last Owl to crack double figures, as she scored 11 points with a pair of threes. 

Westfield put this game away quickly, holding a 30-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Fitchburg fought back with a strong second quarter of their own, but they were ultimately unable to close the gap. The Falcons struggled to hold on to the ball, turning it over 45 times, and Westfield managed to score 44 points directly off their turnovers.  

Behind nine points from Lummus, the Owls went on both a 13-0 and a 10-0 run to grab a 22-point first quarter lead. Fitchburg put together a strong second quarter, with efficient shooting and strong efforts from Olivia Almeida (Wilmington, Mass.) and Jadelen Harold (Nantucket, Mass.), combining for 15 of the teams 24 points in the frame. The Owls got to work down low, scoring 20 of their 28 points in the paint to maintain a 58-32 lead at halftime. 

Westfield did just enough to extend their lead in the third. Neither team shot the ball particularly well, with both teams shooting below 30%, but the Owls managed to outscore the falcons 16-11 heading into the final quarter. The fourth quarter was a different story, Westfield poured in 27 points to Fitchburg's 11, and held the Falcons to 22% from the field on the way to a 101-54 final. 

Fitchburg also had four players scoring double figures. Jadelen Harold recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Olivia Almeida added 11 points and sank two triples. Ephemian Bailey (Maple Grove, Minn) chipped in 10 points with four rejections, and Rylie Harlow (Hanson, Mass.) had 10 points as well, with five rebounds and four assists. 

Westfield travels to #2 seed Bridgewater State, a 79-40 winner over #7 MCLA today, on Thursday, February 24 for a 6:00 p.m. tip off in the MASCAC Semifinals, with a chance to punch their ticket to Saturday's championship game. 

#4 Worcester State 83, #5 Salem State 52   Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State women's basketball recorded 30 assists on 36 made baskets and shot better than 65% from the field as they defeated Salem State 83-52 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's basketball quarterfinals on Tuesday evening at Brissette '88 Competition Court.

The fourth seeded Lancers (12-13) are back in the MASCAC semifinals for the fourth consecutive season. Prior to the 2020-21 season being cancelled, Worcester State was in the MASCAC championship game in 2019-20 and 2018-19. The #5 seed Vikings see their season end with a record of 7-18.

Six different Lancers had three or more assists, including all five starters, led by Elizabeth Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.), who dished out seven assists, and Erin Gallella (Tewksbury, Mass.) who had six dimes to go with 13 points.

Worcester came out shooting at a blistering rate in the opening quarter, going 9-12 from the floor, but the Vikings kept pace by firing better than 53% themselves.

It was the second quarter where the Lancers got some separation, opening the quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 30-16 lead when Gigi LeMay (Grafton, Mass.) put back an offensive rebound at 6:33 of the quarter.

Salem State was held to just 4-19 from the floor in the second quarter and Worcester State outscored them 22-8 to take a 20-point lead at the break.

LeMay had 15 points and seven rebounds at halftime on 7-9 shooting as the Lancers went 20-35 (69%) from the floor in the opening twenty minutes. She finished the day with 19 points, 8 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.

The Lancers held Salem without a field goal four more than three minutes out of halftime and extended their lead to 50-23 when Elizabeth Gallella blocked a shot on one end of the floor and then hit a jump shot at the other end.

Salem was led by their two post players, Irianis Delgado (Lynn, Mass.) and Liz Zaiter (Peabody, Mass.), who combined to shoot 15-32 from the field. Delgado had a team-high 18 points, while Zaiter had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Joining the double-digit scorers for Worcester State, Abby St. Martin (Putnam, Conn.) had 14 points while filling the stat sheet with five assists, three steals and two blocks. Nyah Thomas (Attleboro, Mass.) and Calli Korbey (Hopkinton, Mass.) had three dimes apiece as well. Elizabeth Gallella added to her assist total with 9 points (4-6 shooting), eight rebounds, a steal and a block.

If seedings hold, the Lancers will be on the road on Thursday night for their MASCAC semifinal game. Opponent and game time will be determined at the conclusion of tonight's other games.

Release courtesy of Bridgewater State, Westfield State and Worcester State Sports Information