Bridgewater State and MCLA advance to the MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament semifinals after winning their respective quarterfinal match-ups on Tuesday night.

#6 MCLA 64, #3 Worcester State 54 Box Score

Worcester, MA- The sixth seeded MCLA women's basketball team received a game high 22 points from Courtney McLaughlin (Pittsfield, MA), while teammate Kayla Hotaling (Ravena, NY) added 20 in leading the Trailblazers past the third seeded Worcester State Lancers 64-54 this evening in the Quarterfinal round of the MASCAC championships.  With the win, the Trailblazers (10-15) advance to face the #2 seed, the Framingham State Rams Thursday night at 6pm in Framingham.

The Lancers end their season at 12-14.

McLaughlin was 8-21 from the floor and connected on a pair of three pointers for her 22 point night.  Hotaling was 9-20 for her 20 point night.  She would complete the double double with 11 rebounds.  The duo combined for 24 of their teams 36 points in the second half.

Worcester State led 30-28 at halftime, but MCLA quickly tied it up before the Lancers held their final lead at 38-35 on a Bianca Langford layup.  At that point, MCLA went on an 11-0 spurt at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth to take a 46-38 lead.  McLaughlin started the run with a triple and Hotaling made back to back hoops.  The duo scored all eleven points in the pivotal run.

Worcester State wouldn't go quietly twice cutting the deficit to four points at 52-48 and then for the last time at 58-54, but that was with just 1:29 left to play.  McLaughlin would miss a jumper giving the Lancers hope, however Hotaling rejected a Kate Suprenant attempt and MCLA corralled the rebound with just 48 seconds left to play.

With the Trailblazers in control and in possession, they would keep Worcester State at bay by going 6-8 from the free throw line while limiting to the Lancers on the defensive side to preserve the victory.

Worcester State swept the season series with the Trailblazers in low scoring affairs, however in this one the teams came out flying.  MCLA shot a sizzling 61% in the opening quarter as they opened up an 18-14 lead, however the Lancers would control the second quarter and take the slim 30-28 lead into the locker room.  The game would ultimately feature six ties and six lead changes.

The Lancers were paced by Kaitlyn Berkel's team high of 18 points.  Catherine Sweeney was outstanding off the bench scoring 16 points and pulling down 7 rebounds.  Britt Herring added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Worcester State in the loss. 

MCLA shot 43% from the floor in the win.  The Trailblazers had a season low 7 turnovers in the win as they forced 12 from the Lancers.

The Trailblazers move on to face Framingham State who swept the season series from MCLA earlier this season.

#4 Bridgewater State 71, #5 Salem State 60 Box Score

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) posted a double-double with a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead #4 seed Bridgewater State University to a 71-60 victory over #5 Salem State University in the opening round of the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The win marked the 300th in the illustrious coaching career of Bridgewater State Head Coach Bridgett Casey. The all-time winningest coach in team history, Casey has produced a record of 300-220 (.577) in her 20 seasons at the helm.

The host Bears (12-14) advance to the MASCAC Tournament semifinal round and will travel to top-seeded Westfield State University on Thursday night to take on the Owls. Game time is slated for 7:00 PM. The Vikings end the season with an overall record of 11-15.

Lindland connected on 10 of 15 field goal attempts and seven of her game-high 13 rebounds came off the offensive boards. She also recorded three steals.

Junior guard Jennifer Whyte (Braintree, Mass.) checked in with 17 points in 18 minutes off the bench for the Bears. Whyte knocked down 5 of 11 three-point attempts and 14 of her 17 points came in the second half. Junior forward Rhiana Page (Brookline, Mass.) added ten points and seven rebounds.

Junior forward Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) poured in a game-best 30 points to go along with nine rebounds for the visiting Vikings. Waggett went 13-for-18 from the floor. Senior guard Kaitlyn Bryan (Lowell, Mass.) contributed 11 points and five boards, while freshman guard Brianna Rodriguez (Salem, Mass.) added ten points, three assists and three steals.

Bridgewater led 21-11 after one quarter of play as the Bears forced eight turnovers in the opening period. Lindland scored 12 of BSU's 21 points in the session while Waggett scored all 11 points for Salem. The Bears trailed 10-5 midway through the period, but closed it out with a 16-1 run.

Salem recorded the first five points of the second quarter and held the Bears scoreless for over 4 ½ minutes. Late in the period, the Vikings pulled to within four (29-25) on a breakaway layup by Rodriguez with just 29 seconds remaining. However, a driving layup by BSU senior guard Chelsea Saucier (Portland, Maine) in the final seconds closed out the scoring and gave the Bears a 31-25 lead at the break.

Waggett led all players with 19 first-half points on 9 of 14 shooting. Lindland paced Bridgewater with 13 points and eight boards over the first 20 minutes.

The Vikings outscored the Bears 18-14 in the third quarter to close the gap to two at 45-43. The surge continued into the final period and Waggett eventually knotted the score at 48-48 with a short baseline jumper with 6:50 left to play.

A Whyte trifecta followed by a DaSilva floater in the paint put the Bears back up by five, but Bryan answered with a three-pointer to make it a two-point game (53-51) with 5:41 showing on the scoreboard.

From there it was all Bridgewater State. A 15-2 run over the next four minutes secured the win for the Bears. Six points by Lindland and a pair of three-pointers by Whyte and one from DaSilva accounted for all 15 points as Bridgewater held a commanding 68-53 lead with just 85 seconds remaining.

After shooting just 32% (16-50) over the first three quarters, the Bears shot a scorching 62% (10-16) in the final period including 5-for-6 (83%) from behind the arc.

The BSU defense forced 21 turnovers in the game which led to a 23-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Rebounds were even at 38 apiece, but the Bears held a 13-7 edge on the offensive glass which accounted for 13-1 difference in second chance points. 

Courtesy of Bridgewater State and MCLA Sports Information