Owls Fall at Bridgewater, 94-82

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Westfield State senior guard Melissa Gray (Peabody, Mass.) scored a season-high 33 points but the Owls fell to Bridgewater State, 94-82, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference match-up from the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater, Mass.

Bridgewater State improves to 15-7 on the season and 7-2 in the MASCAC, while the Owls fall to 13-11 overall and 7-4 in conference play. Bridgewater swept the season series as the Bears also posted a 95-86 win over the Owls back on January 19th at Westfield.

Gray and sophomore forward Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) combined for 57 of the Owls 82 points scored on the afternoon. Gray tallied 33 points with six rebounds and a game-high six steals. She shot a blistering 13 of 22 from the field including seven made three-pointers in 13 attempts. Grant added 24 points with seven rebounds and four blocks. First-year guard Lila Labrie (Southampton, Mass.) was the next leading scorer for the Owls, collecting six points on two made triples.

Bridgewater State senior guard Hannah Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) led the scoring charge for the Bears, pouring in a career-high 29 points. Dziadyk, who led five players in double-figure scoring, equaled her career-high with seven made three-pointers as she went 7-for-12 from behind the arc. She also tallied four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.

Freshman center Jannise Avelino (Peabody, Mass) came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points for Bridgewater State to go along with five rebounds, while junior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) posted her third double-double of the season with 12 points and a career-best ten assists. Senior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) checked in with 12 points and five boards, and freshman guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) rounded out the Bears' double-digit point producers with 13 points in addition to three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Bears used the strength of 24 first-half points from Dziadyk to take a 46-37 lead into the break. Bridgewater went 8-for-13 from behind the arc over the first two quarters including six trifectas from Dziadyk. Bradbury added 12 points in the first half for the Bears, while Grant tallied 14 points and Gray checked in with ten for the Owls.

Bridgewater used a 15-2 run midway through the third quarter to open up a 23-point lead (69-46). Avelino scored seven points during the spurt. The Bears would carry a 73-55 advantage into the fourth quarter and got up by as many as 24 points (89-65) in the period.

Westfield, however, would not go down quietly as the Owls reeled off 14 straight points to cut the deficit to ten, 89-79, with 2:28 left to play. Gray scored five points during the run, while Grant added four. BSU senior guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) answered with a clutch three-pointer with 1:59 showing on the scoreboard to make it a 13-point game (92-79) and the Bears held the Owls to just a Gray three-pointer over the final two minutes.

Bridgewater shot 56% (39-70) for the game including 10-for-22 (46%) from three-point range. The Bears also assisted on 37 of 39 made field goals.

The Owls connected on 44% (27-61) of their field goal attempts and finished 10-for-28 (36%) from behind the arc and 18-for-23 (78%) at the free throw line.

In upcoming MASCAC action, the Bears entertain the Lancers of Worcester State University on Monday evening at 5:30. The Owls are off until next Saturday when they host the Falcons of Fitchburg State University at noon from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. for senior day.

-- Release courtesy of Bridgewater State sports info