Women's Basketball Rolls to 100-70 Alumni Day Win Over Salem

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team celebrated its annual Alumni Day in style.

With players from the past in attendance, the Bears stayed undefeated in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference on Saturday afternoon.

All five starters scored in double figures as BSU defeated Salem State University for the 12th straight time, 100-70, at the Tinsley Center.

It was the first time the Bears reached the century mark since a 105-42 road victory over the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Jan. 7, 2022.

The former players who returned to campus watched BSU extend its winning streak to five games on a special day for the program.

"I think it's awesome," said coach Bridgett Casey of the alumni attending the game. "It's 27 years for me here, and the fact they want to keep coming back and they're invested is great.

"I get texts and email messages of 'good luck, how are you doing, congratulations' all the time. Part of them is still here. It's special. It makes me feel like we have a sense of family here and that's what we've built over the years."

The victory improved the Bears (11-9) to 7-0 in the MASCAC, one game ahead of Framingham State University (6-1). The two teams will meet in Framingham on Wednesday night.

Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) and Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) led the offense with 21 points each, Gaucher making 8 of 12 shots and Grassi going 8-for-14.

Gaucher added eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals while Grassi had three steals. Grassi, a junior, moved into 11th place on the BSU all-time scoring list with 1,087 points, leaving her 12 shy of the No. 8 spot.

Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals while Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) contributed 12 points with four 3-pointers, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) had 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Salem State was led by Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) and Ernidia Goncalves (Everett, Mass.) with 20 points each while Jaylen Nieves (Chicopee, Mass.) scored 17. Goncalves grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out.

BSU never trailed, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the opening three minutes and holding a 24-18 advantage after one quarter and a 47-32 lead at the break after a last-second 3-pointer by Cleveland.

The Bears shot 64 percent in the second quarter and 56 percent for the half with Grassi (16) and Gaucher (12) combining for 28 points.

A 33-point third quarter enabled BSU to open an 80-47 lead going into the final 10 minutes when the Bears' second unit finished off the victory. The Bears were in front by as many as 37 during the second half and wound up with their second largest margin of victory this season.

BSU had been idle for a week but showed no signs of rust in defeating the Vikings (8-10, 2-4 MASCAC) for the second time this season.

"We've had some really good practices, which was nice," said Casey. "We focused on defense, which is where it all starts for us. I thought we finished a little bit better today. Some of the kids were knocking down shots.

"It was a great team win. Any time you get a chance to clear your bench and get everybody to score, it's a nice team win."

Gaucher provided a boost with her offense to go with the usual strong defense.

"She's always been our workhorse defensively and has just always been there," said Casey. "She has the tough assignments guarding the best player game in and game out. The last couple of practices she put in time with extra shots. I was really happy for her because she found that where we know she's capable of."

BSU made 56 percent of its shots, hitting at least 50 percent in all four quarters.

Now comes a trip to Framingham for a showdown with the Rams, who lost to BSU, 56-47, on Jan. 6 in the Bears' conference home opener.

"Every game is going to be tough,'' said Casey. "There's not much wiggle room at the top. Wednesday night will be a huge game. We still have work to do."

BSU has just two home regular-season games remaining, the next one on Feb. 7 against Worcester State.

Salem State has a non-conference home game Wednesday night against Eastern Nazarene.