BRIDGEWATER, Va. (BC Athletics) – The Bridgewater College women’s basketball team overcame an 18-point deficit and held Stevenson to eight points in the second half on the way to a 51-44 victory on Tuesday night.

Records: (RV) Bridgewater 3-1, Stevenson 1-2

How It Happened
• Riley Corcoran got the Eagles on the board first with a pair of makes at the line, but a three-pointer the other way by Stevenson gave the Mustangs the lead. SU followed that with a score before Corcoran made another pair of shots at the charity stripe to cut the gap down to a point. The Mustangs drilled another three-pointer, and Autumn Gentry replied with the Eagles’ first make from the floor of the night. The teams traded scores for the remainder of the period. but it was a Stevenson three-pointer that gave the Mustangs the last laugh and an 18-13 lead after the opening frame.
• Stevenson opened the second quarter with back-to-back makes before Jaiden Polston laid it in at the cup for the Eagles. Stevenson replied with a 7-1 scoring run that saw BC go without a make from the floor for over five minutes. The Mustangs pushed the lead to 29-16 before a Corcoran bucket ended the drought. Following the make thought, Stevenson ripped off another 7-0 run to push the gap to 36-18. BC got the last laugh in the half, however, as Jay Garcia knocked down a three-pointer as time expired to make it 36-21 heading to the break.
• Neither team got on the board in the opening two minutes of the third quarter. Polston started the scoring in the second half with a hookshot to get BC on the board. Garcia followed with a make of a pair at the charity stripe, and a stop on the other end led to a quick score in transition by Corcoran on an outlet by Garcia to cut the gap to single digits. Stevenson took a timeout, but a second-chance effort by Garcia kept the pressure on. Corcoran finished in the paint once again, and an Aylin Humpherys steal on the following trip led to a Polston old-school three-point play to slice the lead to a possession at 36-34. The two sides traded trips, but it was a three-pointer from Savannah Wilson with 1:54 to go in the quarter that capped off a 16-0 Bridgewater run to take the lead at 37-36. Stevenson ended a nearly 10-minute-long scoring drought on the next trip to take the lead back at the end of the frame, 38-37.
• Stevenson opened up the fourth quarter with a pair of makes to push the lead back out to 42-37, but a Polston make started another huge swing for the Eagles. The junior’s bucket sparked a 9-0 Bridgewater run that had contributions from her, Humpherys, Corcoran and Garcia to take a 46-42 lead with 4:11 to play. Stevenson cut the lead in half with a layup on the other end, but that would be all the scoring the Mustangs would have for the rest of the contest. The Bridgewater defense held its edge as Stevenson went 0-for-5 from the floor and committed a trio of turnovers over the final 3:37. BC scored five unanswered with four from Corcoran to seal the deal.

Match Notes,
• Corcoran led the Eagles with 19 points. Garcia registered a season-high 13 rebounds to go along with 11 points for her third double-double of the season. Garcia also led BC with four assists, but Polston, Humpherys and Corcoran all helped the cause defensively, tying for a team-high three steals. The entire BC starting five recorded multiple steals in the victory.
• Boswell and Price led Stevenson with eight points each. Wynter grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for the Mustangs to go along with three blocks.
• Bridgewater limited Stevenson to just eight points in the second half on 4-for-23 from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Stevenson also opened the first half shooting 55.6% from deep, but was held 0-for-7 from beyond the arc in the second half. Bridgewater also relied heavily on free throws and forcing turnovers in the comeback. BC had 15 makes at the line compared to five for Stevenson, while also holding a 23-10 edge in turnovers forced.

Up Next
Bridgewater hits the road for the first time with a trip to Hood on Friday night at 7 p.m.

— BC Athletics —