Top Seed Framingham State and Second Seed Bridgewater State to Meet in MASCAC Women's Basketball Title Game

After winning their semifinal contests on Thursday night, the top seeded Framingham State Rams and second seeded Bridgewater State Bears will meet on Saturday to decide the 2022 MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament Champion.

Top Seed Framingham State and Second Seed Bridgewater State to Meet in MASCAC Women's Basketball Title Game
February 24, 2022

After winning their semifinal contests on Thursday night, the top seeded Framingham State Rams and second seeded Bridgewater State Bears will meet on Saturday to decide the 2022 MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament Champion. 

#2 Bridgewater State 84, #3 Westfield State 71    Box Score 

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scored a double-double with a game high 18 points and 10 rebounds as the second-seeded Bridgewater State University posted a 84-71 victory over #3 Westfield State University in the semifinal round of the 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday evening at the Tinsley Center.

With the win, the Bears (20-7) advance to the MASCAC Tournament Championship Game for the first time since 2015 and for the seventh time in the last 15 years. BSU will travel to top-seeded Framingham State University on Saturday afternoon to take on the Rams at 1 o'clock. Framingham State earned an 81-63 win over #4 Worcester State University in the other semifinal match-up on Thursday.

Bradbury connected on 6-12 from the field while going 4-6 from behind the arc. She also converted both of her free throw attempts and completed the game with three assists and a steal.

Five other Bears recorded double-digit points in the win. Sophomore guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) tallied 10 points, two rebounds, seven assists and a game-high five steals, while freshman guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) connected 5-13 from the field and one free throw attempt for 13 points, three boards and two assists. Senior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) scored 10 points to go along with nine rebounds and one assist and senior guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) put in 5-9 from the field, four of which were from three, to finish the night with 14 points, two rebounds, and three assists. Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) checked in off the bench with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Senior guard Melissa Gray (Peabody, Mass.) paced the Owls with 14 points along with five boards and 2 assists while senior forward Paris Wilkey (Lynn, Mass.) checked in with a team-high 15 points off the bench.

The Bears used a 16-6 run in the first quarter sparked by a jumper from Grassi to get out to a 27-13 lead by the end of the first. The Bears continued their first quarter dominance into the second by taking a commanding 49-25 lead into the break, outscoring the Owls 22-12 in the second quarter. Of the 49 points, Grassi accounted for 13 while Bradbury tallied 10 in the first half. Shooting percentage was the story in the opening half with a decisive 55.6% from the field for the Bears while the Owls completed just 29% of their shots.

After a BSU three pointer from Bradbury five seconds into the third quarter, Westfield surged back with a 8-0 run to get the score to 60-42 before a pair of Bridgewater free throws. The Owls finished the third on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to just 13 points (64-51) by the end of the third quarter.

The BSU lead did not go below 10 in the fourth quarter as the Bears continued to cruise to the 84-71 victory after both teams notched 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Westfield State wraps up the season with an overall mark of 15-12.

#1 Framingham State 81, #4 Worcester State 63    Box Score

Framingham, Mass. - The top seeded Framingham State University women's basketball team defeated fourth seed Worcester State University 81-63 in one semifinal of the 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament this evening at the Athletic Center.  With the victory, the Rams advance to the tournament finals on Saturday afternoon 

THE BASICS: 

- Score: Framingham State 81, Worcester State 63 

- Records:  Framingham State (21-3), Worcester State (12-14) 

- Location:  Framingham, Mass. – Athletic Center  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:  

  • The Rams saw four players tally double figures in the game led by a game-high 22 points from Gwendolyn Carpenter. Carpenter connected on 5-of-9 from the floor including 4-of-4 from behind the arc to go along with five rebounds and eight assists. 

  • Flannery O'Connor and Katty Haidul each recorded double doubles in the game for the Rams. O'Connor scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds with two assists and two blocks, while Haidul scored 20 points with 11 rebounds and two assists. 

  • Camille Desrochers added 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in the game, while Krysta Padellaro finished with seven points and four boards. 

  • Gigi LeMay led the Lancers with a team-best 17 points and 15 rebounds. LeMay connected on 7-of-18 from the floor and added two assists, two steals and three blocks. 

  • Abby St. Martin finished the night with 14 points on 7-of-12 from the floor and added seven boards, while Erin Gallella finished the game with 11 points and four boards. 

 

HOW IT HAPPENED:  

  • After trading points to start the game, the Rams used a 5-0 run to take a 10-4 lead midway through the quarter. 

  • The Lancers closed the gap to four on an St. Martin jumper with just under four to play, but the Rams pushed the lead to 17-9 on an O'Connor bucket in the paint.  

  • The Lancers closed the quarter with four straight points from LeMay to close the first trailing 17-13. 

  •  The Rams opened the second quarter with a 14-4 run taking a 29-19 lead midway through the frame. 

  • The Lancers closed the gap to seven, 31-24, with just over two to play in the half, but the Rams scored nine straight including a three as the shot clock was expiring by Padellaro to give the Rams their largest lead of the half, 39-24.  

  • A Calli Korbey jumper for the Lancers would send them to the locker room trailing 39-27. 

  • Leading 47-37 three minutes into the third, the Rams rattled off a 12-2 run capped by a Desrochers three to take a 59-39 lead with just under three to play in the quarter. 

  • The Lancers closed the quarter with an 8-4 run of their own to head to the fourth trailing 63-47. 

  • The Lancers opened the fourth quarter with an 8-3 run cutting the deficit to 66-55 with 6:04 to play. 

  • The Rams pushed the lead back to 70-55 after layups from Desrochers and O'Connor.  

  • The Lancers would pull to within 11 on multiple occasions including on a pair of Erin Gallella free throws with just under two to play, but the Rams tallied the final seven points of the game to secure the victory and advance to the tournament finals on Saturday. 

UP NEXT: 

With the win, the top seeded Rams advance to the MASCAC Tournament Finals on Saturday where they will host second seed Bridgewater State at 1 p.m. 

Release courtesy of Bridgewater State and Framingham State Sports Information