WESTFIELD, Mass. –  Reports of the Owls' demise were greatly exaggerated.

 

Westfield State exploded for a season best 111 points, including 29 from Melissa Gray (Peabody, Mass.), as the Owls dispatched Bridgewater State, 111-108 at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.

 

After a 10-game skid against a tough non-conference slate, and an 0-1 start in the league, defending champ Westfield State has now won three straight games to improve to 6-10 overall and 3-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.

 

The Owls got out to a 59-48 halftime lead, and held on down the stretch for the win.

 

Westfield State senior point guard Chelsea Moussette (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) delivered a dagger three pointer on a 27-foot bomb with 1:26 left that put the Owls ahead 110-104 and provide a bit of breathing room.  She added 1-of-2 free throws with 2.5 seconds left to maintain a 111-106 margin before the Bears got a meaningless layup at the buzzer for the final margin.

 

Moussette produced 18 points and 11 assists, her second straight game of 11+ assists.  Gray finished 10-15 from the floor, 3-7 from three, and 6-7 at the line.  Isabella Aitken (Pittsfield, Mass.)  added 20 points and five steals, her third straight game of 20+ points.

 

Senior forward Cayla Durkee (Georgetown, Mass.) has been an important addition to the Owls lineup after missing several games in early January due to injury. She added nine points and six rebounds.

 

The Owls shot better than 50 percent from the floor and a blistering 42 percent (14-33) from behind the three-point arc.

 

Westfield topped the 100-point mark for the second game in a row, and the Owls are averaging 99 points per game in four MASCAC games to date.

 

Bridgewater met its first defeat in conference play, and is now 6-10 overall and 2-1 in the MASCAC.  Six-foot-one center Destiny Fitzgerald netted a school-record 43 points for the Bears on 20-30 shooting from the floor, and grabbed 17 rebounds in a standout performance, but it was not enough to counter the Owls' system attack which had 10 players play 14 or more minutes, and utilized all 14 players on the roster in the key conference win.

 

Westfield will be back in action at home with a non-conference game against Connecticut College at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at the Woodward Center.