Bridgewater State and Framingham State both picked up victories in the MASCAC Women's Basketball Quarterfinals on Tuesday night. They advance to the semifinal round on Thursday.

#3 Bridgewater State 89, #6 Fitchburg State 68 Box Score

Courtesy of the Bridgewater State Sports Information Department.

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore forward Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) scored 18 points to lead third-seeded Bridgewater State University to an 89-68 victory over #6 Fitchburg State University in the opening round of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears (14-12) advance to the tournament semifinal round and will travel to #2 Westfield State University on Thursday night to take on the Owls at 7:30. Bridgewater is now 5-1 all-time against Fitchburg in the MASCAC Tournament including 4-0 at home. The Falcons end the season with an overall record of 9-17.

Fitzgerald connected on 7 of 9 field goal attempts and added eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.

Freshman guard Olivia Dziadyk (Wakefield, Mass.) checked in with 13 points for the Bears as she equaled her career-high. Senior forward Kailyn Aguiar (Acushnet, Mass.) notched eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds (six offensive) as well as two steals and a block in 16 minutes off the bench.

Junior guard Angelina Marazzi (Manchester, N.H.) paced the visiting Falcons with a game-best 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting, including 5-for-6 from three-point range, to go along with five rebounds.

The Bears opened the game with a 13-0 run and led 27-6 after one quarter of play. Dziadyk tallied 13 of Bridgewater's first 15 points of the contest on a trio of three-pointers, a jumper and a layup. The Bears got up by as many as 27 points (33-6) in the second period and held a 45-20 lead at the break.

Fitzgerald led all players with 14 points over the first two quarters, while Dziadyk notched 13. Marazzi paced the Falcons with 11 first-half points.

The Bears shot 53% (19-35) in the first half including 5-for-10 (50%) from behind the arc, while the Falcons shot 17% (5-29) from the floor and went just 1-for-11 (9%) from long range.

Four three-pointers by the Falcons in the third quarter, including pair from Marazzi, helped close the gap to 15 (56-41) with 2:54 remaining. The Bears, however, reeled off a 9-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer and long jumper from senior guard Sara DaSilva (Chelmsford, Mass.), to push the lead back up to 24, 65-41. Bridgewater would take a 65-43 advantage into the final quarter and maintained at least a 20-point advantage throughout the period.

Twelve different players scored for the Bears who shot 49% (34-70) for the game, 47% (7-15) from behind the arc and 78% (14-18) at the line. The Bears finished with a 47-35 rebounding advantage (17-13 offensive) and held the edge in second chance points (17-4), points in the paint (44-28) and points off turnovers (23-17). The BSU bench also outscored the Fitchburg reserves, 37-10.

After a tough first 20 minutes, the Falcons bounced back to shoot 56% (19-34) in the second half including 7-for-8 (88%) from three-point land. Junior guard Emma Thomson (York, Maine) added 11 points and four boards for the visitors.

#4 Framingham State 70, #5 Salem State 47 Box Score

Courtesy of the Framingham State Sports Information Department.

Framingham, Mass. – The fourth seeded Framingham State University women's basketball team received a game-high 23 points from senior forward Tiphani Harris (Revere, Mass.) as the Rams defeated fifth seed Salem State University 70-47 in one quarterfinal of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament at the Athletic Center.

THE BASICS:

- Score:  Framingham State 70, Salem State 47

- Records: Framingham State (16-9), Salem State (6-19)

- Location: Athletic Center – Framingham, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• With the game tied 9-9 with just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Rams closed the frame with a 14-2 run featuring three trifectas from sophomore Camille Desrochers (Westford, Mass.) to take a 23-11 lead after one.  The Rams shot 71% from behind the arc (5-7) in the opening quarter.
• In the second quarter, the Vikings closed the game to six (27-21) on a jumper by sophomore Katie Wallace (Peabody, Mass.) with just over four on the clock.
• The Rams countered with back-to-back threes from junior Emily Velozo (Tewksbury, Mass.) extending the lead back to double figures, 33-21.  Salem closed the half with five straight points including a three point play by junior Courtney Paschal (Waltham, Mass.) to head to the locker room trailing 33-26.
• The Rams continued to build the lead in the third quarter with threes from Velozo and Desrochers and layup from Harris pushing the advantage to 52-33 with just under four remaining.  After a Paschal three for the Vikings, a Harris lay-in sent the game to the fourth with the Rams leading 56-38.
• A pair of free throws from senior Kia Fernandes (Wareham, Mass.) cut the deficit to 58-43 for the Vikings with 7:30 on the clock, but Rams extended the lead back to 19 on a Harris free throw and led by as many as 23 down the stretch.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Harris paced all scorers connecting on 11-of-17 from the floor and added eight boards, three assists, five steals and two blocks.
• Velozo finished the game with 17 points on six-of-13 from the floor including five-of-six from behind the arc. She added four boards and seven assists, while Desrochers finished the game connecting on four-of-five from behind the arc in route to her 12 points.
• The Vikings were led by a double double of 14 points and 12 boards from Fernandes, while senior Tyra Scott (Methuen, Mass.) finished with seven points and four rebounds.
• The Rams shot 49.2% from the floor in the game (29-59) including shooting 62.5% from behind the arc (10-16), while Salem shot just 27% from the floor and 20% from long range.

UP NEXT:

With the victory, the Rams advance to the semifinals of the MASCAC Tournament and will travel to top seed Worcester State University on Thursday night at 7 p.m.