Bears down Seahawks in Cave Classic

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) scored a career-high 25 points to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 78-57 victory over Salve Regina University in the semifinal round of the BSU Cave Classic Tip-Off Tournament on Friday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 1-2 on the season, while the Seahawks fall to 0-4. Bridgewater State will take on Bowdoin College in the tournament championship game on Saturday afternoon at two, while Salve Regina will face Colby-Sawyer College in the consolation game at noon. Bowdoin defeated Colby-Sawyer in the other semifinal matchup, 80-35.

Dziadyk connected on 8 of 12 field goal attempts, including 5-for-7 from three-point range, and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. She also added two rebounds, three assists and a game-high five steals.

Senior guard Nicole Bostick (East Taunton, Mass.) and junior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) added 12 points apiece off the bench for the Bears. Bostick added five rebounds and three assists, while Fitzgerald pulled down five boards. Sophomore guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) checked in with nine points (3-for-6 from behind the arc) to go along with a team-high six rebounds and five assists.

Senior guard Torie Scorpio (Cranston, R.I.)  tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists to pace Salve Regina, while graduate student Lauryn Becker (Hanover, Mass.) posted a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 boards to go along with four assists and a pair of steals.

Trailing by five midway through the first quarter, the Bears used a 10-0 run to jump in front, 18-13, with two minutes remaining in the period. Fitzgerald scored four points during the run, while Bostick and Hannah Dziadyk connected on three-pointers. Bridgewater would ultimately take a 21-17 lead into the second quarter.

The Bears extended the advantage to 11, 34-23, following a Hannah Dziadyk trifecta with 5:14 remaining until halftime. Bridgewater, however, would not score again in the period. The Seahawks scored the final five points, all on free throws, to close the gap to 34-28 as the teams headed to the break.

The Bears shot 33% (13-39) from the floor in the first half, while the Seahawks connected on 32% (10-31) of their field goal attempts. Bostick paced the hosts with eight points in the first half. Becker tallied eight first-half points for the visitors.

Salve used a 7-0 run in the third quarter to pull to within three, 40-37, with 5 ½ minutes showing on the scoreboard. The Bears, however, dominated the rest of the period outscoring the Seahawks, 19-5, over the final five minutes to head into the fourth quarter with a 17-point lead (59-42). Olivia Dziadyk scored 11 of those 19 points including a trio of three-pointers.

A three-pointer by Hannah Dziadyk followed by fourth straight free throws from Olivia Dziadyk to open the final period put the game out of reach. The Bears would get up by as many as 25 points on three separate occasions in the fourth quarter before settling for the 78-57 win.

Bridgewater shot 41% (29-71) for the game including 11-for-27 (41%) from behind the arc. The Bears assisted on 23 of their 29 made field goals, and the BSU bench outscored the Salve reserves, 36-11. The Bears' defense held the Seahawks to 37.5% (21-56) shooting and forced 24 turnovers in the contest.