The Ephs improved to 8-2 on the season, while the Bears fell to 6-3. Williams will play Edgewood tomorrow at 11 a.m. (CST) in the tournament championship game, while Bridgewater State will face Cabrini College at 9 a.m. (CST) in the consolation game.
The Ephs dominated the glass over the first 20 minutes, securing 12 offensive rebounds to Bridgewater State's 11 total rebounds and finishing with a 27-11 advantage in the half.
Senior Colleen Hession (Northampton, MA) scored all of her 14 points in the first half, while O'Malley had eight points and eight boards and Miller eight points, six rebounds and four steals.
The Ephs built a 43-26 lead by the half. The Bears cut their deficit to eight at one point in the second half, but junior point guard Kaylan Tildsley (Andover, MA) hit a crucial three-pointer to up the lead back into double digits.
O'Malley finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Miller contributed 13 points, 10 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 blocked shots in the win.
Bridgewater struggled mightily from the charity stripe as the Bears connected on only 9 of 20 (45%) free throw attempts. BSC also turned the ball over 23 times in the loss. After being dominated on the boards in the first half, the Bears did a much better job in the final stanza as they outrebounded the Ephs, 28-20.
BSC senior forward Samantha Curry (Braintree, MA) led all scorers with 19 points. Curry also added 7 boards. Senior guard Megan King (Cherry Valley, MA) came off the bench to score 14 points for the Bears, while sophomore guard Caitlin Feeney (Providence, RI) also finished in double figures with 12 points