NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team posted a 73-63 victory over SUNY Polytechnic Institute on Saturday afternoon at the Smith Holiday Classic.

The Bears went 1-1 at the classic and improve to 8-4 on the season. The Wildcats dropped both of their games at the classic and fall to 4-6.

Senior guard Kylee Piche (Bridgewater, Mass.) tallied 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting and added six rebounds (two offensive), four assists and a pair of steals to lead the way for Bridgewater State. Senior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scored a team-best 13 points for the Bears to go along with five rebounds (two offensive) and three assists, while sophomore forward Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) tallied 11 points, four boards (two offensive) and three assists. Cleveland went 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-3 at the free throw line.

Bridgewater State also received nine points, seven rebounds (five offensive) and two assists from senior forward Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) as well as nine points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals from sophomore forward Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.). Sophomore guard Eryn Rice (Medway, Mass.) and sophomore forward Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) checked in with eight points apiece off the bench.

Senior forward Molly Burdick (Johnson City, N.Y.) posted a double-double with game-high totals of 22 points and 18 rebounds to lead the way for SUNY Poly. Burdick went 12-for-14 from the free throw line and six of her 18 boards came off the offensive glass. She also dished out three assists. Senior guard Lyrik Jackson (Syracuse, N.Y.) checked in with 17 points, five rebounds (three offensive) and three steals for the Wildcats.

With the score knotted at 25-25 midway through the second quarter, the Bears closed out the half with a 13-2 run to take a 38-27 lead into the break. Rice, who scored all five of her first-half points during the spurt, jumpstarted the run with a three-pointer.

Bridgewater shot 51.6% (16-31) from the floor over the opening 20 minutes and went 3-for-9 (33.3%) from three-point range and 3-for-5 (60%) at the free throw line. SUNY Poly connected on just 31% (9-29) of its first half field goal attempts including 0-for-4 from behind the arc, The Wildcats did however go 9-for-10 (90%) at the charity stripe. Bradbury scored ten of her 13 points in the first half, while Jackson paced SUNY Poly with ten.

After SUNY Poly closed the gap to seven in the third quarter, a Gaucher layup with 3:52 remaining in the period pushed the BSU lead back up to 11 (49-38). The Wildcats then closed out the session with a 13-2 run to knot the game at 51-51 heading into the final period. Jackson scored five points during the run while a Reid started the spurt with a three-pointer.

A Burdick jumper opened the fourth quarter scoring as the Wildcats took their first lead since the opening period. After a Piche layup reclaimed the lead for the Bears, Reid knocked down a three-pointer to put SUNY Poly back on top, 58-57, with 5:53 left to play. Bridgewater then reeled off eight straight points, highlighted by a pair of trifectas from Gaucher and Rice, to pull ahead (65-58) for good.

The Bears shot 39.4% (26-66) for the game, including 6-for-23 (26.1%) from behind the arc, and finished 15-for-20 (75%) at the free throw line. The Wildcats connected on just 30.5% (18-59) of their field goal attempts, but went 24-for-28 (85.7%) from the charity stripe.

Bridgewater held the edge in fastbreak points (19-12), points off turnovers (20-18), points in the paint (30-24), second chance points (14-13) and bench points (20-7).

In upcoming action, the Bears open Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play next Wednesday when they travel to Framingham State University for a 7:30 game with the Rams.