WORCESTER – Salem State University was led by Mackenzie Cook (Reading, Mass.) and Michael Casale
(Stoney Creek, Ont.) in the Vikings’ 5-2 victory over Worcester State University in Tuesday evening’s Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) regular season finale.
Cook tallied two goals, while Casale picked up a goal and two assists in the win.
With the win, Salem State concludes the regular season at 13-8-3 and 12-4-2 in the MASCAC, while the Lancers finish at 9-13-3 and 6-10-2 in the MASCAC.
The Vikings started the scoring just five minutes into the game on a goal from Derek Makimma (Swartz Creek, Mich.), assisted by Casale and Callum Hofford (Woodbridge, Ont.). Not even a minute later, Salem State added another to the board as Brad Jones (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) shot from the top of the right circle off an odd-man rush. Casale picked up his second assist of the night on the second goal, and then scored the third goal three minutes later from the top of the circle. Despite a 3-0 advantage for the Vikings in the first period, Worcester State outshot the Vikings 10-9 in the frame.
Salem State’s Cook scored his first goal of the game in the 9th minute of the second period when his shot trickled off Worcester State’s goalie, Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills, Calif.). Worcester State spoiled the shutout late in the second period when Colin Whitt (South Lake, Texas) made an unassisted point shot.
Worcester State added one more goal halfway through the third period when Marcus Mazur (Beverly Hills, Mich.) shot from the slot, however, Salem State’s Cook tallied his second goal of the game in the 16th minute to close out the score at 5-2.
Salem State’s Jason Pucciarelli (Newmarket, Ont.) earned his 11th win of the season on a 29-save performance, while Worcester’s Cory Lignelli (Glastonbury, Conn.) suffered the loss with three saves in 8:56 played. Reinstein relieved Lignelli in the first period to total 17 saves in 51:04 played.
Despite the win for Salem State, Worcester State outshot the visitors by a 31-25 margin. Neither team was able to convert a power play, as Salem had three opportunities and Worcester had six.
Prior to this evening’s contest, Worcester State honored four seniors: #2 Alex Taddeo (Franklin, Mass.), #4 Jim LeNoir (Exton, Pa.), #9 Alex DeWitz (Oronoco, Minn.), and #17 Crissostomos Villarreal (Corona, Calif.)
Next up, both teams will advance to the MASCAC tournament. Salem State earned the No. 2 seed and will get a bye in the first round of the tournament and play the winner of the UMass Dartmouth/Westfield game next Tuesday (Feb. 28). Worcester State will take the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will look to face the No. 4 seed Fitchburg State on the road Saturday (Feb. 25) afternoon.
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass.) posted a double-double with a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead #4 seed Bridgewater State University to a 71-60 victory over #5 Salem State University in the opening round of the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference (MASCAC) Women’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.
The win marked the 300th in the illustrious coaching career of Bridgewater State Head Coach Bridgett Casey. The all-time winningest coach in team history, Casey has produced a record of 300-220 (.577) in her 20 seasons at the helm.
The host Bears (12-14) advance to the MASCAC Tournament semifinal round and will travel to top-seeded Westfield State University on Thursday night to take on the Owls. Game time is slated for 7:00 PM. The Vikings end the season with an overall record of 11-15.
Lindland connected on 10 of 15 field goal attempts and seven of her game-high 13 rebounds came off the offensive boards. She also recorded three steals.
Junior guard Jennifer Whyte (Braintree, Mass.) checked in with 17 points in 18 minutes off the bench for the Bears. Whyte knocked down 5 of 11 three-point attempts and 14 of her 17 points came in the second half. Junior forward Rhiana Page (Brookline, Mass.) added ten points and seven rebounds.
Junior forward Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) poured in a game-best 30 points to go along with nine rebounds for the visiting Vikings. Waggett went 13-for-18 from the floor. Senior guard Kaitlyn Bryan (Lowell, Mass.) contributed 11 points and five boards, while freshman guard Brianna Rodriguez (Salem, Mass.) added ten points, three assists and three steals.
Bridgewater led 21-11 after one quarter of play as the Bears forced eight turnovers in the opening period. Lindland scored 12 of BSU’s 21 points in the session while Waggett scored all 11 points for Salem. The Bears trailed 10-5 midway through the period, but closed it out with a 16-1 run.
Salem recorded the first five points of the second quarter and held the Bears scoreless for over 4 ½ minutes. Late in the period, the Vikings pulled to within four (29-25) on a breakaway layup by Rodriguez with just 29 seconds remaining. However, a driving layup by BSU senior guard Chelsea Saucier (Portland, Maine) in the final seconds closed out the scoring and gave the Bears a 31-25 lead at the break.
Waggett led all players with 19 first-half points on 9 of 14 shooting. Lindland paced Bridgewater with 13 points and eight boards over the first 20 minutes.
The Vikings outscored the Bears 18-14 in the third quarter to close the gap to two at 45-43. The surge continued into the final period and Waggett eventually knotted the score at 48-48 with a short baseline jumper with 6:50 left to play.
A Whyte trifecta followed by a DaSilva floater in the paint put the Bears back up by five, but Bryan answered with a three-pointer to make it a two-point game (53-51) with 5:41 showing on the scoreboard.
From there it was all Bridgewater State. A 15-2 run over the next four minutes secured the win for the Bears. Six points by Lindland and a pair of three-pointers by Whyte and one from DaSilva accounted for all 15 points as Bridgewater held a commanding 68-53 lead with just 85 seconds remaining.
After shooting just 32% (16-50) over the first three quarters, the Bears shot a scorching 62% (10-16) in the final period including 5-for-6 (83%) from behind the arc.
The BSU defense forced 21 turnovers in the game which led to a 23-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Rebounds were even at 38 apiece, but the Bears held a 13-7 edge on the offensive glass which accounted for 13-1 difference in second chance points
