Bears Use Second Half Rally to Down Owls in MASCAC Title Game

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior forward Jordan Grant (Gray, Maine) led all scorers with 17 points, but Bridgewater State used a furious second half comeback to erase a 23-point deficit to defeat the Owls 64-59 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship game from the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.

Bridgewater State earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and wins their first conference title since 2015 where the Bears won five consecutive championships from 2011-15. With the loss, the Owls conclude the 2023 season after a fantastic run into the championship game which included a nine-game winning streak up until today's game.

It was a tale of two halves with the Owls controlling play in the first half, then the Bears rallying back in the second half. Westfield opened the game by scoring the first nine points of the contest beginning with a pair of layups from Grant and Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.). Jess Gardner (Webster, Mass.) drilled a triple, then Grant converted a layup to jumpstart the Owls offense.

With the Bears trimming the Owls lead to six points, Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) connected on consecutive three pointers to push the Westfield lead to 12 points, 17-5. Grant finished the quarter with another layup as the Owls held a 20-7 lead after one quarter.

Hadla and Grant opened the second frame with consecutive baskets to drive the lead to 17 points. The Owls lead hovered around that mark until Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass.) hit a triple, and then Lindsey Bohenko (Lowell, Mass.) sank a pair of free throws to bolster the Owls advantage to 31-13 with 3:24 remaining in the half.

Late in the second quarter, Pond buried her third three of the half, then Bohenko scored a triple from the corner to give the Owls a 39-20 lead heading into the break. Westfield's swarming defense was a primary source for building the large first-half lead, holding the Bears to 26.7% shooting (8-30 FG) while forcing 13 turnovers.

In the third quarter, Bridgewater flipped the script and began to cut into the Owls lead. Grant collected a pair of jumpers from the top of the key to position Westfield with their largest lead of the game at 23 points. However, that would be the last field goal that the Owls would score in the third quarter.

Kylee Piche (Bridgewater, Mass.) found the bottom of the basket, then Syndey Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) hit the Bears second three-pointer of the game to trim the deficit to 18 points. Six more points followed from the Bears including four from Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) as Bridgewater now trailed 43-31 with 5:28 left in the third.

More free throws from Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) and Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) brought the Bears within nine points as the Owls continued to struggle in their half-court offense.

Bradbury and Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) each converted layups before Hadla briefly halted the scoring barrage with a free throw as the Owls lead was cut down to six points, 44-38 with 2:11 to play in the period.

Bradbury closed the quarter with a triple, then forced an Owls turnover and scored a layup, as Bridgewater outscored the Owls by 18 points in the third quarter to trail 44-43 after three quarters. Westfield connected on just 2 of 14 shots from the field in the frame.

In the fourth quarter, after two free throws by Grant, Tripp made a layup, then D'Amours scooped in a shot to give the Bears their first lead with 7:56 remaining in the title game.

The Owls stemmed the momentum shift with Berthiaume scoring the Owls first basket in over ten minutes of game action, allowing for the Owls to retake the lead by one. However, the Bears offense continued to find its scoring rhythm, attacking the Westfield defense on the interior. A pair of Tripp conversions in the paint allowed Bridgewater to open up a 54-50 lead with just 3:26 to go.

Westfield split free throws on two different trips to the stripe while the Bears continued to score in the paint, this time with Grassi exploding to the hoop to extend the Bears lead to six points (58-52) with 1:55 remaining in regulation.

With the Owls on defense, Octaviana Williams (Springfield, Mass.) forced a steal and threw an outlet pass up the floor to Hadla who finished through contact for a three-point play, making her free throw to cut the Bears lead to three points with 1:13 to play.

On the ensuing Bridgewater possession, the Owls forced a missed shot on the Bears initial offensive attempt, but were unable to secure the rebound, eventually fouling to set up free throws. Gaucher secured both tries, then Hadla muscled her way to the hoop, finishing a tough lay-in at the rim to pull it back to a one-possession game.

Gaucher calmly nailed two more free throws for the Bears to extend the lead to five points with 18 seconds left, but again it was Hadla that kept the Owls alive with another quick layup to make it a three-point deficit.

Westfield fouled to prolong the game, sending Bradbury to the line, who hit both of her attempts. The Owls were unable to score on the other end of the floor, ultimately ending the game.

Bridgewater outscored the Owls 44-20 in the second half with the Bears shooting 50% in the final frame while sealing the contest by shooting 9-10 from the free throw line in the quarter. The Owls shot 24% from the floor in the second half, while missing all nine three-point attempts in the final 20 minutes.