Women's Basketball Rolls to 86-58 Win over Fitchburg State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) posted a double-double with a game-high 18 points and ten rebounds to lead the Bridgewater State University women's basketball team to an 86-58 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon in the Bears' annual Play4Kay Breast Cancer Awareness game at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 10-13 on the season and 6-4 in the MASCAC, while the Falcons slip to 6-17 overall and 3-7 in conference play. Bridgewater has won 12 of the last 13 meetings of the two teams and 21 of the last 23. The Bears are also 62-17 all-time versus the Falcons since 1983.

Fitzgerald connected on 7 of 14 field attempts and eight of her ten rebounds came off the offensive glass. She also recorded three steals and three blocked shots.

Senior guard Nicole Bostick (East Taunton, Mass.) added 14 points and five boards for the Bears, while freshman guard Kylee Piché (Bridgewater, Mass.) scored 11 points and sophomore guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) registered 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench.

Senior guard Angelina Marazzi (Manchester, N.H.) paced Fitchburg State with 17 points and five rebounds. Sophomore forward Jadelen Harold (Nantucket, Mass.) added 12 points on 6 of 9 shooting to go along with seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench for the visitors.

The Bears scored the first nine points of the game and led 14-3 five minutes into the contest. Bridgewater, however scored just three points the rest of the quarter and took a 17-9 lead into the second period. After Fitchburg senior guard Catherine Coppinger (Dorchester, Mass.) converted a traditional three-point play to close the gap to five (17-12), the Bears reeled off 14 straight points to take control of the game. Bostick scored five points during the 14-0 run, while Fitzgerald tallied four. Bridgewater got up by as many as 26 points (41-15) in the period and took a 43-21 lead into the break.

Dziadyk scored 11 point over the first 20 minutes to lead all players, while Fitzgerald notched ten. The Bears connected on 45% (18-40) of their first-half field goal attempts and went 6-for-18 (33%) from behind the arc. The Falcons shot just 26% (8-31) from the floor and 14% (2-14) from three-point range in the first half and turned the ball over 11 times.

The Bears were never threatened in the second half as the Falcons got no closer than 17 points (60-43) the rest of the way. Bridgewater got up by as many as 30 points (85-35) in the latter stages of the fourth quarter and cruised to the 86-58 victory.

The Bears held a decided advantage in offensive rebounds (22-8), points in the paint (44-28), points off turnovers (29-3) and second chance points (21-4). The BSU bench also outscored the Fitchburg reserves by a margin of 33-13.

Bridgewater shot 40% (32-80) for the game and converted 10 of 32 (31%) three-point attempts. The Bears' defense forced 20 turnovers.

After struggling from the floor in the floor in the first half, the Falcons bounced back to shoot 60% (15-25) in the second half including 10-for-13 (77%) in the third quarter.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Wednesday night at six o'clock. The Bears travel to Framingham State University, while the Falcons head to Worcester State University.