Women's Basketball Rolls to 88-60 Win over Salem on Senior Night

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior forward Monica-Sabina Bharoocha (North Smithfield, R.I.) posted a double-double with 18 points and ten rebounds to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to an 88-60 win over Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe Salem State University on Senior Night at the Tinsley Center.

With the win, the Bears clinch the number two seed for next week's MASCAC Tournament.  Bridgewater improves to 17-6 on the season and 8-3 in conference play, while Salem falls to 3-20 overall and 0-10 in the MASCAC.

The victory marked the 199th coaching win in the 14-year career of Bridgewater State head coach, Bridgett Casey.  Casey has produced a record of 199-157 (.559) since arriving at BSU in 1997.

Bharoocha connected on 6 of 9 field goal attempts and was 6-for-7 from the free throw line.  She also added two assists and a pair of steals, and five of her game-high ten boards came off the offensive glass.

Junior forward Shelly DePina (New Bedford, Mass.) added 18 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals for the Bears, while senior guard Corey Cuddihy (Scituate, Mass.) notched 11 points, four rebounds and nine assists.  Freshman forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) finished with 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting to go along with three boards and four steals off the bench.

Bridgewater forced 26 turnovers in the game thanks in large part to a season-high 21 steals. The Bears also dominated the boards holding a 46-29 rebounding advantage including a 21-9 edge on the offensive glass. Bridgewater shot 44% from the floor and, for the second straight game, were lights out from the charity stripe knocking down 20 of 23 (87%) free throw attempts.

Leading 20-19 with nine minutes remaining, Bridgewater went on a 14-0 first half spurt to take control of the game.  The Bears led by 15 at the half (44-29) and opened up a 24-point advantage (62-38) before Salem went on a 13-3 run to pull to within 65-51.  A DePina layup followed by a Cuddihy three-pointer and four consecutive points from Bharoocha answered the Salem run as the Bears would score nine straight points in less than a minute and a half.

Junior forward Breanna Comeau (Amesbury, Mass.) paced the visiting Vikings with 21 points and seven rebounds as she connected on 9 of 12 field goal attempts.  Sophomore guard Madeleine Park (Blue Hill, Maine) added 12 points.

Prior to the game, the Bears honored seniors Cuddihy, Brittney Chappron (Braintree, Mass.) and Heather McPherson (Mansfield, Mass.) who were playing in their final regular season home game. Salem State head coach, Tim Shea, was also recognized prior to the start of the contest.  Shea is retiring from coaching at the end of the season after 30 outstanding seasons as the Vikings skipper.

Bridgewater State will head to MCLA on Saturday afternoon (1:00) for the regular season finale against the Trailblazers.  Salem travels to Framingham State on Thursday night (7:00) to take on the Rams in a rescheduled game.