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.