HOBOKEN, Md. (Interstat) — The Bridgewater (Va.) women’s basketball team used a balanced offense and a strong defensive effort to defeat Stevenson 78-54 on Tuesday in a women’s NCAA Division III game at Student Union. Attendance was 113. Bridgewater (Va.) improved to 2-0, while Stevenson fell to 0-1. The Eagles never trailed after Mikayla Coleman’s 3-pointer made it 4-3 at 8:15 of the first quarter.

Bridgewater (Va.) led 16-10 after the first quarter and 40-31 at halftime. The Eagles took a 58-44 advantage into the fourth quarter and then pulled away. Stevenson opened the scoring on Janiya Ennis’s driving layup, but Bridgewater (Va.) answered with a 7-0 run capped by Jasmine Griffin’s driving layup. Stevenson trimmed the deficit to 27-24 on Janiya Ennis’s jump shot with 4:23 left in the second quarter, but Bridgewater (Va.) closed the half on a 13-7 run. In the third quarter, Jasmine Griffin hit a 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper, and Mikayla Coleman added a 3-pointer to help Bridgewater (Va.) take a 58-44 lead into the fourth. In the final quarter, Polston made two free throws and a transition jumper, Jalyn Childress added a layup, and Jasmine Griffin’s 3-point stepback made it 75-52. Mikayla Coleman’s 3-pointer at 2:04 closed the scoring.

Jaiden Polston led Bridgewater (Va.) with 18 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and one block in 29 minutes. Jasmine Griffin added 20 points, three rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. Janiya Ennis paced Stevenson with 26 points in 35 minutes. Deamya Ojo had eight points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 25 minutes. Mikayla Coleman contributed 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes. Nadia Ferguson scored 10 points in 30 minutes. Savannah Wilson had eight points and two assists in 13 minutes. Lauren Caulden had five points, five rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes. Mattie Matonic added 12 points and four rebounds in 20 minutes. Asia Williams had three points, four rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes.

Bridgewater (Va.) had four players score in double figures: Polston, Griffin, Coleman and Matonic. Stevenson had two players in double figures: Ennis and Ferguson. The Eagles shot 48.4 percent from the floor, while Stevenson shot 42 percent. Bridgewater (Va.) made 5 of 13 3-pointers, and Stevenson made 2 of 14. The Eagles made 11 of 14 free throws, while the Mustangs made 10 of 22. Bridgewater (Va.) had 13 assists, and Stevenson had 10 assists and four blocks. Jaiden Polston had one block for the Eagles. Bridgewater (Va.) led by at least 20 points over the final 6:03 after Jasmine Griffin’s layup made it 70-48. The Eagles’ largest lead was 24 at the final score. Stevenson never got closer than 20 points in the final 6:03.

Bridgewater (Va.) shot 31 of 64 from the floor, 5 of 13 from three-point range and 11 of 14 from the free throw line. Stevenson shot 21 of 50, 2 of 14 from beyond the arc and 10 of 22 from the line. Bridgewater (Va.) held a 34-32 edge in points in the paint and a 28-16 advantage in points off turnovers. The Eagles had 12 offensive rebounds to Stevenson’s seven and committed 17 turnovers to the Mustangs’ 19. Bridgewater (Va.) finished with 13 assists, while Stevenson had 10 assists and four blocks. Deamya Ojo blocked two shots and Nadia Ferguson added one for Stevenson. Bridgewater (Va.) scored 78 points from 76 possessions, an offensive rating of 103.1. Stevenson scored 54 points from 72 possessions, an offensive rating of 74.5.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Bridgewater (Va.) 59, Stevenson 56. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Bridgewater (Va.) with an 86.3 percent probability to win.