Grassi Notches 1,000th Point as Bears Cruise to 71-33 MASCAC Win Over MCLA

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball 1,000-point club has a new member.

Junior Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) reached that milestone on Wednesday night during the Bears' 71-33 victory over the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Grassi scored her 1,000th point with 21 seconds remaining in the first quarter, draining a three-pointer off an assist from fellow Plymouth native Caroline Tripp. She became the 20th player in program history to score 1,000 points and is now 18th on the list with 1,010 points in 65 games.

Grassi led the Bears with 18 points in 23 minutes to go with five steals, three assists, three rebounds and two blocks. She entered the night needing just eight points for 1,000.

Grassi's teammates raced onto the court at the Tinsley Center during the next stoppage in play to congratulate her after the accomplishment.

"It felt insane," said Grassi. "Being here and having all my fans and friends and family and being on the home court, it was unreal.

"Having everyone storm the court and having people making signs, it was an awesome feeling. I can feel the love everywhere."

Grassi is the first BSU player to reach 1,000 points since current assistant coach Chanelle Melton did so in 2018.

Grassi had 206 points as a freshman in the 2021-22 season and had 461 points a year ago when she was the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the year.

Through 16 games this season, Grassi has 343 points with nine regular-season games remaining.

"Obviously a big night for Kylie Grassi," said coach Bridgett Casey. "It's special any time somebody can get it. She keeps raising the bar for herself. I'm super happy for her."

Grassi is the first player in Casey's 27 seasons at BSU to score 1,000 points before her senior season.

BSU is the lone unbeaten team in the MASCAC at 3-0 and is 7-9 overall. MCLA dropped to 1-2 in the conference and 4-11 overall.

Joining Grassi in double figures were Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) with 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting with four rebounds; Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) with 10 points and five rebounds; and Tori Andrewski (North Sutton, N.H.) with 10 points and nine rebounds. Andrewski recorded career highs in both categories.

Tripp dished out a season high nine assists to go along with four points, four rebounds and a pair of steals in 20 minutes of action.

Eleven different players scored for the Bears.

The Trailblazers were led by Kristie Zator (Windham, Conn.) with 11 points and six rebounds.

BSU dominated from the opening minute and won its 26th straight game against MCLA.

The Bears led, 23-2, after one quarter when they limited MCLA to 1-for-11 shooting while making 11 of 18 shots from the field. The Trailblazers' lone points came with 5:53 left in the quarter on a Hailey Peabody (West Springfield, Mass.) basket.

The lead was 41-7 at halftime as the Trailblazers were 3-for-23 from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Defense has been an emphasis for the Bears, and they shut down MCLA.

"We still have a lot of team things we need to work on both offensively and defensively," said Casey, "but for us, it's defense first. The last two days have been focusing on the defense.

"From this point on, it doesn't matter what MASCAC opponent it is. We, as a whole, need to treat every possession like it's the most important possession and for us, it starts at the defensive end. I thought we did a great job early on swarming. We got a couple of shot clock violations, which was good."

BSU extended the lead to 62-22 after three quarters and the second unit was on the court for a good part of the second half.

The Bears' largest lead was 45 during the third quarter, and BSU had 29 points off 19 turnovers.

Now 3-1 at home, BSU plays its next two games on the road, traveling to Worcester State for a noon game on Saturday and Fitchburg State next Wednesday night.

MCLA will host Salem State on Saturday at noon.

Notes: Bridgewater is 78-8 all-time versus MCLA dating back to the 1983-1984 campaign. The Bears have also won each of the last 26 meetings between the two teams.