Women's Basketball Hangs on for 59-51 Win over Salem

SALEM, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State College Bears sprinted out to a 32-16 halftime lead and then hung on for a 59-51 victory over the Lady Vikings in a Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's basketball game played this afternoon at James Twohig Gymnasium in Salem.

The Bears (11-6 overall; 4-1 MASCAC) received a game-high 13 points to go along with five rebounds from sophomore guard Corey Cuddihy (Scituate, MA) and 10 points, three assists and three steals from junior guard Brittney Chappron (Braintree, MA).  Freshman forward Shelly DePina (New Bedford, MA) collected a game-high 13 rebounds and freshman guard Stephanie Houtman (New Bedford, MA) grabbed 10 boards.

The Lady Vikings (6-11 overall; 1-4 MASCAC) were led by junior guard Jakoya Wilkins' (Dorcester, MA) game-high 20 points and senior center Danielle Jenkins' (Marlborough, MA) team-high 11 rebounds.  Junior guard Amanda LaPointe (Winslow, ME) dished out a team-high three assists for the hosts.

In addition to netting a game-high 20 points, which included shooting 7-for-13 from the floor, Wilkins also collected nine rebounds, two steals and a pair of assists.  Junior forward Katie Bielonko (Chicopee) contributed six points and seven rebounds for SSC.

Bridgewater outscored the Lady Vikings 17-1 over the final eight minutes of the first half to take a 32-16 lead into the intermission.  The Bears would take their biggest lead of the game at 19 points (37-18) when Cuddihy nailed a three-pointer just over two minutes into the second half.

Trailing 41-25 with less than 12 minutes left in regulation, Salem responded with a 12-0 run over a five-minute stretch to close to within four points (41-37). BSC was able to thwart the rally, however, by scoring six of the next seven points over a three minute span to retake control of the game.  The Bears went to the free throw line 23 times in the last 6 1/2 minutes of play and converted on 14 of them.

Neither team shot the ball very well throughout the contest as the Bears connected on just 28.3% (17-for-60) of their field goal attempts while Salem was only slightly better at 29% (20-for-69).  The Lady Vikings held a 52-46 advantage on the boards, including a 23-17 edge on the offensive glass.