Bears Sink Vikings, 77-61

LEM, Mass. -- Salem State women's basketball looked to upend the Bears of Bridgewater State University, who came into the night sitting at 6-1 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play. But, a 29-point second quarter coasted the Bears to the 77-61, victory over the Vikings, dropping Salem to 9-12 overall and 4-4 in MASCAC play.

The Vikings were paced by Ernidia Goncalves (Everett, Mass.) who notched 20 points to go with seven rebounds, followed by Abuk Teng (Manchester, N.H.) who had 14 points and seven rebounds in the effort.

On the other side, Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) scored a game-high 23 points, to go along with 10 rebounds, and four helpers, while teammate, Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.), had a near triple-double with nine points, 12, rebounds, and nine assists. Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) netted 15 of her own in the win.

How it Happened:

•  Despite the Vikings scoring two quick baskets to open the game, the Bears were able to answer with a 13-2 run over the next six minutes to take the six-point advantage (13-7) and force the Viking's hand at a timeout with 2:24 to play in the opening stanza.  The regroup worked in favor of the Vikings as they closed out the quarter on a 6-2 run, to bring it to a one-possession game (15-13) heading into the second quarter of action.
• The Bears exploded for 14 unanswered points to start the second, before a Viking layup at the 6:14 mark stopped the bleeding and brought the score to 29-15. The Bears would hold the Vikings to just eight points for the remainder of the quarter, while notching 15 of their own, to go into halftime with the sizeable 44-23 lead.
• Coming out of the break, Goncalves tried to mount a comeback for her team, scoring four points of her own to cut into Bridgewater's lead but the Bears answered with four of their own to reestablish the 20-point cushion with 8:27 to play in the third.
• With 4:18 to play in the third, the Vikings found some momentum after a gritty Goncalves layup downlow followed by a Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) steal which led to an easy two brought them within 15 points (50-35) of the Bears.
• When it looked like the Bears would head into the fourth quarter with the 20-point cushion, Gates found her way past her defender and notched the tough basket to bring the game to 59-41 entering the final ten minutes of play.
•  Despite Salem notching their highest scoring output in the fourth quarter, the hole proved to be too deep and the Bears were able to head home with the 77-61 victory over the Vikings.