Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior center Cassy Jouannet (Conway/Frontier Regional) had a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds and senior forward Ashley Finnegan (Worcester/Holy Name) also posted a double-double (15 points, game-high 14 rebounds) to lead Westfield State University to a 56-42 victory over Worcester State University in the semifinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) postseason tournament on Thursday, Feb. 24.

Westfield – the regular season champion with a 21-5 record and 12 straight victories – will host its second MASCAC Tournament championship game in three years when it entertains Bridgewater State on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 2:00 p.m.

Bridgewater defeated MCLA, 88-73, in the other semifinal game. The Owls swept the season series with the Bears, a 65-61 overtime decision at Bridgewater and a 96-80 triumph at Westfield.

Westfield started slowly, trailing Worcester, 13-4, with 12:22 remaining in the first half. But the Owls quickly gained control with his trademark tenacious defense and precision interior passing on the offense end.

With reserve guard Courtney DelRatez providing a spark off the bench with a 3-point basket, Westfield knotted the score at 13-all at the 10:12 mark. The Owls, who forced the Lancers to commit several shot clock violations in the first half, outscored the visitors 7-0 over the final 5:41 to take a 26-20 lead into the lockerroom.

“We just settled down and did what we had to do, which is to advance to the championship game,” said Jouannet. “We communicated well and just kept working hard.”

With Finnegan ripping down rebounds on the defensive glass (13 total) and the Owls getting easy layups on perfectly executed give-and-go plays, Westfield outscored Worcester, 15-2, at the outset of the second half to take a 19-point lead, 41-22, with 14:10 remaining.

The Owls held 19-point leads three more times in the second stanza, but the scrappy Lancers chipped away at the large lead, closing to within 10 points, 50-40, with 5:31 remaining. But a Jouannet layup with 4:43 remaining halted the 12-3 Lancer run.

Sophomore Briana Kelly (Hampden/Minnechaug) scored 12 of her 14 points in the second as the Big Three accounted for all but nine of the Owls’ 56 points. Guards Jenny Bell (Northampton) and Janae Jones (Springfield/Minnechaug) both recorded five assists in addition to their harassing defense in the frontcourt. Finnegan also dished out four assists from the high post.

Westfield only connected on 6 of 15 free throw attempts but it shot 48 percent form the field. Worcester only shot 28 percent from the floor and committed 18 turnovers.

Junior guard Kaleigh Charette (Fairhaven) was Worcester’s only player in double figures with 16 points. Freshman center Meaghan O’Keefe (Warren/Quaboag) had seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Courtesy MCLA Sports Information

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Behind 21 points from junior forward Shelly DePina (New Bedford, Mass.) and 20 points from senior guard Brittney Chappron (Braintree, Mass.), the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team posted an 88-73 MASCAC Tournament Semifinal win over visiting MCLA on Thursday night in Bridgewater.

Bridgewater improves to 18-7 on the season with the win and will advance to the MASCAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday.  The second-seeded Bears will travel to number one seed Westfield State to take on the Owls at 2 PM. Westfield knocked off Worcester State in the other semifinal matchup, 56-42.  MCLA, the defending tournament champions, fall to 17-9 with the loss.

DePina finished 9-for-10 from the floor and added eight rebounds and four steals.  Chappron knocked down three three-pointers and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the line.

Junior forward Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, N.Y.) paced the visiting Trailblazers with 28 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.  Wehner was an impressive 13 of 14 from the free throw line.  Sophomore guard Lucy Tremblay (East Greenbush, N.Y.) added 22 points, with 15 of those coming in the second half.

Bridgewater led 36-31 at the intermission with freshman guard Jenna Williamson (Ludlow, Mass.) leading the way for the Bears with nine point on 3 of 3 shooting from three-point range in the opening stanza.

Bridgewater used a 9-2 run to start the second half with Chappron knocking down a three-pointer followed by conventional three-point plays by junior forward Monica-Sabina Bharoocha (North Smithfield, R.I.) and senior guard Corey Cuddihy (Scituate, Mass.) .  MCLA would get no closer than six points the rest of the way as the Bears knocked down 13 of 14 free throw attempts in the final six and a half minutes to secure the victory.

Cuddihy finished with 14 points, six rebounds and a game-high seven assists.  Bharoocha chipped in with 13 points, five assists and three steals.  Freshman forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) added seven points, five boards and four steals.  The Bears connected on 23 of 31 (74%) foul shots in the game and forced 21 MCLA turnovers thanks in large part to 14 steals.

The Trailblazers had a slight 34-30 edge in points in the paint, and also held a 39-32 rebounding advantage.  MCLA shot 50% (30-60) from the floor but were just 10 of 18 (56%) at the free throw line.