WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State University women's basketball team edged Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Bridgewater State University, 97-95, in overtime on Wednesday evening at The Woodward Center.

The Owls improve to 11-12 on the season and 8-2 in the MASCAC as they clinched a first round bye in the MASCAC Tournament. The Bears fall to 9-13 overall and 5-4 in conference play. Westfield has won four of the last five meetings of the two teams and nine of the last 11.

Sophomore guard Jenn Rennich (Bedford, Mass.) scored a career-best 21 points on 6 of 7 shooting from long range to lead the way for Westfield State.

Junior guard Melissa Gray (Peabody, Mass.) led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds for the Owls, while sophomore guard Isabella Aitken (Pittsfield, Mass.) added 18 points and six rebounds, and senior guard Chelsea Moussette (Southampton, Mass.) ended with nine points and a game-high 12 assists.

Freshman guard Kylee Piché (Bridgewater, Mass.) netted a career-high 23 points and added nine rebounds (five offensive) and four assists to lead the way for Bridgewater State.

Junior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) added 22 points and a career-best 19 rebounds (nine offensive) and seven blocked shots for the Bears, while sophomore guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) checked in with 21 points. Dziadyk connected on 4 of 5 three-point field goals and was a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line.

Senior guard Nicole Bostick (East Taunton, Mass.) recorded her first career double-double for the Bears as she notched ten points and a career-high ten rebounds.

Westfield led 38-35 after a closely contested first half. The Owls shot just 31% (14-45) in the opening stanza, including 4-for-15 (27%) from behind the arc, but forced 17 turnovers which led to a 17-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The Bears connected on 41% (14-34) of their first half field goal attempts and went 0-for-7 from three-point range.

Gray led all players with 11 points over the first two quarters, while Fitzgerald paced the Bears with ten.

The third quarter featured five ties including a 59-59 deadlock following a pair of Fitzgerald free throws with 46 seconds remaining. The Owls, however, closed out the period with a Gray layup and Aitken trifecta to take a 64-59 lead into the final period.

Westfield opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by Rennich and freshman forward Lauren Legere (Bedford, Mass.), as the Owls pushed the advantage to 11 (72-61). Out of a timeout, the Bears responded with a 9-3 spurt jumpstarted by a Dziadyk trifecta to close the gap to five, 75-70. Westfield had the answer, however, as the Owls pushed the lead back to 11 (85-74) following an Aitken three-pointer with 3:12 left to play.

The Bears dominated the rest of the period as they held the Owls to just a single free throw in the final three minutes. A 12-1 run to close out the quarter capped off by a game-tying driving layup by Piché (Bridgewater, Mass.) with just four  seconds left in regulation tied the game at 86-86. Westfield had a chance to win it in regulation with a Gray drive, but the shot wouldn't fall as the teams headed to overtime.

Westfield scored the first five points of the extra frame on a Rennich three and a Gray bucket. The Owls got up by as many as six, 94-88, on an Aitken jumper in the lane with 1:54 left. The Bears once again battled back. Dziadyk knocked down a pair of free throws and junior forward Leah Simmons (Abington, Mass.) converted a traditional three-point play to cut it to one (94-93). Freshman guard Jordan Lako (Attleboro, Mass.) then came up with a big steal and pushed the ball up to Piché for a layup to give the visitors a 95-94 lead with 42.5 seconds left to play.

Westfield ran the shot clock down on the ensuing possession, and Aitken was fouled on a drive with one second left on the shot clock. She made both free throws to secure the lead for Westfield, 96-95.

After a pair of Bears missed shots at the other end of the floor, Rennich grabbed the rebound and was fouled with six seconds left in the game.  She made one of two shots.  Bridgewater's desperation heave from near half court hit the top of the backboard as time ran out and the Owls escaped with the win.

Westfield shot 37% (34-92) for the game and finished 16-for-41 (39%) from behind the arc. Bridgewater converted 45% (36-80) of their field goal attempts and knocked down 19 of 27 (70%) free throw attempts. Dziadyk was 4-for-5 from three-point range, but the rest of the team went 0-for-15.

The Owls, who attempted 12 more shots than the Bears, held a 30-16 edge in points off turnovers.

Bridgewater finished with a 60-32 advantage in points in the paint. The Bears also outrebounded the Owls, 66-44, with a 25-21 edge on the offensive glass.

The Bears entertain the Falcons of Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon at one. The Owls are off until next Wednesday evening when they travel to Salem State University for a five o'clock game with the Vikings.