Second Seeded Bridgewater State Captures 2011 MASCAC Women's Basketball Championship With 47-42 Title Game Triumph At Top Seeded Westfield State
Second-seeded Bridgewater State captured its second Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship in the last four seasons on Saturday afternoon by posting a 47-42 victory over top-seeded Westfield State in the 2011 tournament title contest played at the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.
Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior
guard Brittney Chappron (Braintree) scored a game-high 22 points to
lead Bridgewater State University to a 47-42 victory over Westfield
State University in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic
Conference (MASCAC) women’s tournament championship game
Saturday, Feb. 26.
The hard-earned victory gives the Bears (19-7) and automatic bid to
the NCAA Division III national tournament. Westfield – the
MASCAC regular season championship – had its 12-game winning
streak halted and is 21-6.
Chappron – the tournament MVP - made four 3-point baskets
from well beyond the arc and rallied the Bears from a 38-32 deficit
midway through the second half to lift them to their second MASCAC
tournament championship (they captured the crown in 2008) and sixth
NCAA Tournament appearance.
“Brittney has been playing for the past three weeks like she
did today,” said Bridgewater veteran head coach Bridgett
Casey. “She was a senior on a mission.”
Chappron nailed a trey following a timeout to make it 38-35 at the
9:42 mark. She then drained an NBA 3-pointer from the right wing
near the out of bounds line to knot the score at 38-38 with 7:27
remaining.
With both teams playing tough defense and struggling to execute
offensively, Chappron hit a pull-up short-range jumper to give the
Bears the lead, 40-38, with 3:37 remaining.
Westfield tied the score on a give-and-go layup from Briana Kelly
(Hampden/Minnechaug) at the 2:33 mark, but Bridgewater responded 23
seconds later with a conventional 3-point play from Megan
Boutilette (Charlton/Shepherd Hill) for a 43-42 Bear advantage.
Ashley Finnegan (Worcester/Holy Name) dropped in a layup to pull
the Owls within a point, 43-42, with a minute remaining. Westfield
then got the ball back 11 seconds later when point guard Janae
Jones (Springfield/Minnechaug) swiped the ball from Chappron in the
frontcourt. But Kelly was whistled for a turnover with 31 seconds
remaining.
Westfield was forced to foul and senior guard Corey Cuddihy
(Scituate) made two free throws for a 45-42 lead with 17 seconds
remaining. Westfield sophomore Courtney DelRatez (Adams/Hoosac
Valley) took a heavily guarded 3-point shot from the right wing
that was on target but hit the front of the iron with four seconds
remaining. Bridgewater grabbed the loose ball and Chappron canned
two free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining.
“It was a great win to bring back to Bridgewater,”
Casey said. “Brittney and our defense were the
keys.”
The low-scoring game was not anticipated. The Bears entered the
game leading the MASCAC in points scored (76.6) and points allowed
(69.4) per game. The other game this season Bridgewater held a team
below 50 points was an 83-47 triumph over MCLA. Westfield won the
two regular season meetings, defeating Bridgewater in overtime,
65-61, and in a 96-80 shootout.
“It was a defensive battle and I don’t think
we’ve held a team to that low of a score,” said Casey.
“We just communicated well today and tried to have a hand in
the face each time Westfield took a shot.”
Westfield, which leads in the MASCAC in scoring defense (52.6),
trailed 17-7 with 10:01 remaining in the first half. The Owls went
on a 9-0 run – sparked by five points form Kelly – to
close within a point, 17-16.
Bridgewater led at halftime, 24-22, and after the teams traded
leads Westfield went on a mini 7-0 run, capped by a 3-point basket
by sophomore reserve guard Angela Paterson (Nantucket) for its
biggest lead, 38-32.
It was the Owls’ only 3-pointer of the game as they struggled
from the perimeter. They shot 29 percent from the field, including
1 for 10 from beyond the arc.
Finnegan posted another double-double with team highs of 13 points
and 11 rebounds. Kelly was Westfield’s second leading scorer
with nine points. Jones finished with six points and five
assists.
Boutilette was the Bears’ second leading scorer with seven
points; she also grabbed 10 rebounds. Cuddihy had a game-high 12
rebounds, all on the defensive end.
Bridgewater also struggled from the field, shooting 33 percent. The
Bears were 4 for 16 from 3-point range, led by Chappron’s
4-for-8 effort.