Dziadyk, Fitzgerald Lead Women's Hoops to 78-60 Victory over Clark

WORCESTER, Mass. – Sophomore guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) tallied 22 points off the bench and junior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) posted a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to a 78-60 victory over Clark University on Saturday afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.

The Bears improve to 3-9 on the season as they snapped a five-game losing streak, while the host Cougars fall to 4-9.

Dziadyk connected on 6 of 10 three-point field goal attempts and added four rebounds and a pair of steals in just ten minutes of action. Fitzgerald went 8-for-17 from the floor, notched two assists, four steals and three blocked shots, and six of her 14 boards came off the offensive glass.

Senior guard Nicole Bostick (East Taunton, Mass.) checked in with ten points for the Bears.

Sophomore guard Emily Sifferlen (North Andover, Mass.) scored a game-high 27 points to lead the way for Clark. Sifferlen went 11-for-14 at the free throw line and tallied five rebounds and three steals. Junior forward Hannah Favaloro (Blackstone, Mass.) recorded a double-double for the Cougars with 14 points and ten boards (four offensive), and sophomore guard Ginny Benbow (Durham, Conn.) contributed 11 points.

The Bears led 31-28 following a tightly-contested first half. Fitzgerald tallied 12 points and nine rebounds over the first 20 minutes, while Sifferlen paced the Cougars with 13 first-half points.

A pair of Bostick trifectas helped the Bears build a seven-point lead (39-32) in the early stages of the third quarter. Leading 47-43 with under three minutes remaining in the period, the Bears closed out the session with a 10-2 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by Dziadyk, to head into the fourth quarter with a 57-45 advantage.

Bridgewater State carried the momentum into the fourth quarter as a pair of three-pointers from Dziadyk and one by freshman guard Kylee Piché (Bridgewater, Mass.) helped the Bears open up a 68-47 lead with 7:45 left to play in the game. The Cougars would get no closer than 13 points (70-57) the rest of the way as Bridgewater came away with the 78-60 victory.

The Bears shot 42% (32-76) for the game and went 10-for-26 (38.5%) from behind the arc and 4-for-9 (44%) at the charity stripe. The Cougars connected on 34.5% (20-58) of their field goal attempts and finished just 2-for-13 (15%) from three-point range. Clark made 26 trips to the free throw line and converted 18 (69%).

Bridgewater State held the edge in both points off turnovers (24-13) and second chance points (19-8). The BSU bench, led by Dziadyk, also outscored the Clark reserves, 31-0.

Both teams are back in action on Wednesday night at seven. The Bears travel to Johnson & Wales University, while the Cougars head to NEWMAC rival Babson College.