Women's Basketball Downs Bates, 67-55, at Williams Holiday Classic

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team posted a 67-55 victory over Bates College on Friday evening at the Williams Holiday Classic.

The Bears improve to 4-1 on the season while the Bobcats fall to 2-4.

Senior guard Michaela Cosby (Walpole, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bears.  Cosby connected on 8 of 10 field goal attempts and also notched four steals.

Junior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) added 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with four boars, three steals and a block, while senior guard Elisha Homich (Ludlow, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Bridgewater got up by as many as 24 points (40-16) in the first half and led 42-19 at the break.  Boutilette scored 13 of her 17 points in the opening stanza. 

A Cosby jumper and Boutilette layup to open the second half gave the Bears their biggest lead of the game at 46-19.

Bridgewater led 56-37 midway through the period when Bates used a 15-4 run to cut the deficit to eight points (60-52) with just 3:27 left to play.  The Bobcats, however, would not score over the next three minutes and the Bears knocked down 7 of 8 free throws in that span to secure the win.

Senior guard Allie Beaulieu (Swampscott, Mass.) paced Bates with 20 points and five rebounds while senior forward Taryn O'Connell (Georgetown, Mass.) added 19 points, six boards and four assists.

The Bears shot 48% (25-for-52) from the floor for the game while the Bobcats converted just 31% (19-for-61) of their field goal attempts.

The Williams Holiday Classic wraps up tomorrow afternoon with Bridgewater battling host Williams at three and Bates taking on RPI at one.