Bridgewater State, Framingham State Win MASCAC Women's Basketball Quarterfinals
Bridgewater State and Framingham State both picked up wins in the MASCAC Quarterfinals to advance to the semifinal round on Thursday, February 21.
Bridgewater State and Framingham State both picked up victories in the MASCAC Women's Basketball Quarterfinals on Tuesday night. They advance to the semifinal round on Thursday.
#3 Bridgewater State 89, #6 Fitchburg State 68 Box Score
Courtesy of the Bridgewater State Sports Information Department.
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore forward Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) scored 18 points to lead third-seeded Bridgewater State University to an 89-68 victory over #6 Fitchburg State University in the opening round of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center.
The Bears (14-12) advance to the tournament semifinal round and will travel to #2 Westfield State University on Thursday night to take on the Owls at 7:30. Bridgewater is now 5-1 all-time against Fitchburg in the MASCAC Tournament including 4-0 at home. The Falcons end the season with an overall record of 9-17.
Fitzgerald connected on 7 of 9 field goal attempts and added eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.
Freshman guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) checked in with 13 points for the Bears as she equaled her career-high. Senior forward Kailyn Aguiar (Acushnet, Mass.) notched eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds (six offensive) as well as two steals and a block in 16 minutes off the bench.
Junior guard Angelina Marazzi (Manchester, N.H.) paced the visiting Falcons with a game-best 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting, including 5-for-6 from three-point range, to go along with five rebounds.
The Bears opened the game with a 13-0 run and led 27-6 after one quarter of play. Dziadyk tallied 13 of Bridgewater's first 15 points of the contest on a trio of three-pointers, a jumper and a layup. The Bears got up by as many as 27 points (33-6) in the second period and held a 45-20 lead at the break.
Fitzgerald led all players with 14 points over the first two quarters, while Dziadyk notched 13. Marazzi paced the Falcons with 11 first-half points.
The Bears shot 53% (19-35) in the first half including 5-for-10 (50%) from behind the arc, while the Falcons shot 17% (5-29) from the floor and went just 1-for-11 (9%) from long range.
Four three-pointers by the Falcons in the third quarter, including pair from Marazzi, helped close the gap to 15 (56-41) with 2:54 remaining. The Bears, however, reeled off a 9-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer and long jumper from senior guard Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.), to push the lead back up to 24, 65-41. Bridgewater would take a 65-43 advantage into the final quarter and maintained at least a 20-point advantage throughout the period.
Twelve different players scored for the Bears who shot 49% (34-70) for the game, 47% (7-15) from behind the arc and 78% (14-18) at the line. The Bears finished with a 47-35 rebounding advantage (17-13 offensive) and held the edge in second chance points (17-4), points in the paint (44-28) and points off turnovers (23-17). The BSU bench also outscored the Fitchburg reserves, 37-10.
After a tough first 20 minutes, the Falcons bounced back to shoot 56% (19-34) in the second half including 7-for-8 (88%) from three-point land. Junior guard Emma Thomson (York, Maine) added 11 points and four boards for the visitors.
#4 Framingham State 70, #5 Salem State 47 Box Score
Courtesy of the Framingham State Sports Information Department.
Framingham, Mass. – The fourth seeded Framingham State University women's basketball team received a game-high 23 points from senior forward Tiphani Harris (Revere, Mass.) as the Rams defeated fifth seed Salem State University 70-47 in one quarterfinal of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament at the Athletic Center.
THE BASICS:
- Score: Framingham State 70, Salem State 47
- Records: Framingham State (16-9), Salem State (6-19)
- Location: Athletic Center – Framingham, Mass.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- With the game tied 9-9 with just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Rams closed the frame with a 14-2 run featuring three trifectas from sophomore Camille Desrochers (Westford, Mass.) to take a 23-11 lead after one. The Rams shot 71% from behind the arc (5-7) in the opening quarter.
- In the second quarter, the Vikings closed the game to six (27-21) on a jumper by sophomore Katie Wallace (Peabody, Mass.) with just over four on the clock.
- The Rams countered with back-to-back threes from junior Emily Velozo (Tewksbury, Mass.) extending the lead back to double figures, 33-21. Salem closed the half with five straight points including a three point play by junior Courtney Paschal (Waltham, Mass.) to head to the locker room trailing 33-26.
- The Rams continued to build the lead in the third quarter with threes from Velozo and Desrochers and layup from Harris pushing the advantage to 52-33 with just under four remaining. After a Paschal three for the Vikings, a Harris lay-in sent the game to the fourth with the Rams leading 56-38.
- A pair of free throws from senior Kia Fernandes (Wareham, Mass.) cut the deficit to 58-43 for the Vikings with 7:30 on the clock, but Rams extended the lead back to 19 on a Harris free throw and led by as many as 23 down the stretch.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Harris paced all scorers connecting on 11-of-17 from the floor and added eight boards, three assists, five steals and two blocks.
- Velozo finished the game with 17 points on six-of-13 from the floor including five-of-six from behind the arc. She added four boards and seven assists, while Desrochers finished the game connecting on four-of-five from behind the arc in route to her 12 points.
- The Vikings were led by a double double of 14 points and 12 boards from Fernandes, while senior Tyra Scott (Methuen, Mass.) finished with seven points and four rebounds.
- The Rams shot 49.2% from the floor in the game (29-59) including shooting 62.5% from behind the arc (10-16), while Salem shot just 27% from the floor and 20% from long range.
UP NEXT:
With the victory, the Rams advance to the semifinals of the MASCAC Tournament and will travel to top seed Worcester State University on Thursday night at 7 p.m.