Women's Basketball Falls to #16 Amherst, 74-47

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's basketball team was handed its first loss on Wednesday night.

The Bears were defeated by #16 Amherst College, 74-47, in the Mammoths' first visit to the Tinsley Center since 2016.

After BSU was even with Amherst, 16-16, in the first quarter, the Mammoths took over in the second quarter and improved to 2-0.

The Bears made only 3 of 19 shots in that second quarter to fall behind, 37-23, at halftime, and they never threatened.

The Bears (1-1) are now 1-8 in the series with Amherst dating back to 1987. After winning the first game, BSU has now dropped eight in a row to Amherst.

The Mammoths had four players in double figures, led by senior Annie McCarthy (Medfield, Mass.) with 17 points to go with five rebounds.

Freshman Chase Anderson (Cohasset, Mass.) had 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while senior Anna Tranum (Bemus Point, N.Y.) added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Senior Laura Mendell (Westport, Mass.) scored 10 points while junior Brielle Renwick (Norwalk, Conn.) had 12 points to go with eight points.

BSU had just one player score in double figures. Freshman Emilie von der Linden (Sanbornville, N.H.) had 10 points plus 11 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double. von der Linden also dished out three assists to go along with steal and a blocked shot.

Junior Sophie Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) added nine points in 11 minutes off the bench and senior Mairead Gallagher (Bridgewater, Mass.) scored eight points.

Amherst made 41 percent of its shots and was 9-for-19 from 3-point range while the Bears were only 16-for-60 from the floor for 27 percent and hit just 3 of 14 of their 3-pointers.

BSU had 22 turnovers which resulted in 27 points, and the Mammoths held advantages in rebounds (49-38) and second-chance points (19-8).

BSU jumped to a 12-6 lead in the opening 6:41, making five of its first nine shots.

Von der Linden had a layup and a three-point play in that stretch.

Two free throws by senior Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, N.Y.) gave the Bears a 16-9 lead with 2:55 to go in the opening quarter.

But Amherst scored the final seven points of the period while BSU missed two shots from the field and two free throws while turning the ball over three times in the last 2:50.

The Bears were outscored in the final three quarters, 58-31.

BSU was scoreless in the second quarter, missing eight shots, until sophomore Lexi Thompson (New Bedford, Mass.) made a layup after a steal with 6:26 to go in the half.

That tied the game at 18, and the only other baskets in the quarter for the Bears came from Savannah Azoff (Sandwich, Mass.), who hit a 3-pointer with 4:24 to go, and Thompson, who made a jumper with 2:51 remaining.

Amherst scored the final nine points of the half in the last 2:34 to take the 37-23 lead at the midway point.

BSU missed five of its first seven shots in the second half and trailed, 48-27.

The Bears' largest deficit of the third quarter was 59-33, and Bradbury scored the final four points to cut Amherst's lead to 59-37 going into the last 10 minutes.

The closest BSU was in the fourth quarter was 22 points, and the Mammoths built a 28-point lead late.

BSU, which opened with a win over UMass Dartmouth last week, plays its first road game Tuesday. The Bears will be at Rhode Island College at 5:30 p.m.

Amherst is home on Tuesday at 2 p.m. to play Oswego State.