MCLA falls to Bridgewater 75-70

North Adams, MA-  MCLA Sophomore Jen Wehner tallied 20 points and 19 rebounds, but the Trailblazers fell to visiting Bridgewater State 75-70.  With the loss, MCLA falls to 12-5, 2-4 in the league while the Bears move to 6-0 in the MASCAC.

The opening half saw the visiting Bears jump out to an early 7-0 lead as Bridgewater's Brittany Chappron drained a deep three and added a layup in the early run.  The hot start provided BSC some breathing room and the Bears extended to 12 point advantage with just over 8:00 minutes left in the half at 28-16.

MCLA would respond with an 8-0 run starting with a Wehner offensive putback.  Junior Molly Broda (Southampton, MA) would add a pair of free throws and a layup.  After a BSC free throw extended the lead to five, Broda would answer with another three and a layup to tie the game at 29  at the 5:00 minute mark.  Bridgewater would end the the half on a 14-6 to take an eight point edge into halftime, 43-35.

MCLA chipped away at the lead in the second half using an 8-0 run early on to make the score 45-43.  Senior Jade Prickett knocked down consecutive jumpers in the run.  Bridgewater would again answer pushing the lead back to six on a Monica Bharoocha jumper, before MCLA tallied another quick 6-0 spurt.  This time Hilary Perks (Saugerties, NY) added a pair of buckets, the latter tying the game at 51.

The game would settle down over the next five minutes.  MCLA would cut the lead down to a point at the 8:00 minute mark on a Wehner layup, but they could never get over the hump and grab the lead.

The Bears would keep it a two to three possesion game down the stretch and were never really threatened.

Aside from Wehner's monster night, the Trailblazers recieved 12 points and 5 assists from Broda.  Prickett would finish with 10 points.  MCLA was plagued by 23 turnovers.

For the Bears, Chappron finished a game high 22 points while Elisa Homich added 16.

MCLA returns to the road on Saturday when they meet Worcester State.