January 13, 2009
BRYANT DROPS ANOTHER LATE-GAME
HEARTBREAKER, FALLS TO YALE IN BATTLE OF THE BULLDOGS, 77-71
Boxscore
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Despite the second-straight double-double
from junior Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) and
plenty of heart from the Bulldog side, the Bryant University
women's basketball team couldn't complete their second-half
comeback for the second-consecutive contest, falling to Yale,
77-71, at the John J. Lee Amphitheater Tuesday night.
Bryant (5-11) started out with the early lead, taking an 8-5
advantage 4:30 minutes into the contest on the first basket of
eight-straight points from junior Jaime Campbell
(Springfield, Mass.). But the home team would catch up to
the visiting Bulldogs and trade leads before Yale (7-7) -- aided by
a trio of early offensive fouls called on Bryant -- took a 17-10
advantage with 12:30 left to play in the half.
Yale would slowly grow its lead up to 11 points, 33-22, with
3:35 showing on the clock as Bryant reverted back to plentiful
turnovers and hasty shot decisions. But the Rhode Island Bulldogs
regrouped and began to chip at that lead, starting with a layup
from O'Keefe. Bryant would outscore the home side, 8-3 in the final
three minutes to enter the break down by just six, 36-30.
O'Keefe, tied with Yale's Yoyo Greenfield, led all scorers with
12 points at the half, while Bryant outrebounded Yale in the first
frame, 24-17. The visiting Bulldogs went without a three-pointer in
six attempts on the half with Yale going 4-for-9 from beyond the
arc.
After the break, Bryant caught up in the early goings, cutting
the home team's lead to a single tally 3:40 into the frame on a
Cara Johnson (Endicott, N.Y.) layup started by a
heads-up poke-away on the part of Kristin Mraz (Johnstown,
N.Y.). But Bryant soon fell behind again by four, where
they remained for much of the session's first 10 minutes.
Another Johnson bucket with 9:22 to play brought the visiting
Bulldogs within two, 51-49, before a pair of Siamone
Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) free throws tied the contest at
51-51 with 8:31 showing on the clock.
O'Keefe gave Bryant the lead with 7:49 to go, completing a tough
3-point play, but Yale responded with three points of their own to
reknot the game at 58-58. The teams would trade leads until Yale
went up quickly by six, 66-60, with under five minutes to play. And
despite a number of players in foul trouble on both benches, it was
an edge that the hometown Bulldogs would keep.
Bryant would get within one once more, with 1:05 to play thanks
to a pair of Mraz freebies, and Courtney Schermerhorn
(Lowell, Mass.) would try to narrow the gap with eight
seconds left off a inbounded layup, but in the end, the Ocean State
Bulldogs would fall, 77-71.
Bryant's 71 points ties a team high for the Bulldogs this
season, while O'Keefe tied her own season high with a game-best 26
points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
Johnson and Campbell also chipped in double-digit scoring with 12
and 11, respectively. The visiting Bulldogs shot 51.9 percent in
the second frame for a game total of 43.9 percent, while Yale
finished with 42.2 percent shooting from the floor. Bryant owned
the glass Tuesday night, outrebounding the home side, 47-33, but
made just 65.6 percent (21-of-32) from the charity stripe.
Bryant now enters a 10-day break before returning to the
hardwood at home on Jan. 24 to host another Ivy League opponent in
Dartmouth College at 1 p.m.
