February 14, 2008
BULLDOGS GET HOT AT HOME, TAKE 85-76 WIN OVER CENTRAL
CONNECTICUT TO SNAP LOSING STREAK
Boxscore
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - In its best shooting performance of the year,
the Bryant University women's basketball team earned its seventh
win of the season and fourth home victory, beating future
conference rival Central Connecticut, 85-76, to snap a four-game
losing streak on the back of a season-high 32 points from junior
Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.).
O'Keefe's game-best 32 points came on 8-of-12 shooting from the
floor and 14-of-16 shooting from the charity stripe, including
going 9-for-10 in the final 1:30, and fell just one point shy of
tying her career high. The game also marked O'Keefe's 20th contest
of the season scoring in double digits and ninth straight.
The 85 total points were a season-high for the Bulldogs as a
team in 2008-09, and freshman Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam,
N.Y.) had a career day of her own, earning her first start
in a Bulldog uniform and seeing a career-high 32 minutes of action
in the win. She also recorded career bests in points (6) and
assists (2) and tied her career high in rebounds (5).
Senior co-captain Cara Johnson (Endicott, N.Y.)
also chipped in double-digit scoring with 14 points on the day.
The Bulldogs (7-16) shot 52.7 percent on the day - hitting 65.2
percent in the second half alone - in the victory, while holding a
hot CCSU (15-9) team to 35.1 percent shooting on the game. The
Bulldogs outrebounded the Blue Devils, 43-41, and won both halves,
outscoring CCSU in the second frame, 51-44. The victory also marked
the second time this season Bryant has topped the Blue Devils, also
winning in New Britain, Conn., 64-61, back on Nov. 25.
The Bulldogs started the contest with a personnel change in an
attempt to shake its recent trend of shaky starts, opting for a
freshmen combo of Stahura and Shannon Wood (Gorham,
Maine) in the stating five. It was Stahura's first career
start and Wood's first appearance at tipoff since Jan. 7.
The result was arguably the best passing effort of the season
for Bryant, particularly in the first five minutes of the contest -
a time in which the Bulldogs had been sluggish as of late.
O'Keefe made the first points of the contest off a long jumper
at the top of the key after a stellar passing sequence 30 seconds
in, and the strong passing continued, giving the home team an 8-3
lead after back-to-back threes from junior Courtney
Schermerhorn (Lowell, Mass.) and Wood.
Strong offensive play across the court, including a renewed
presence inside from Siamone Bennett (Newburgh,
N.Y.), gave the Bulldogs a 19-10 advantage with 11:24 left
in the half, before Central Connecticut went on an 11-2 run that
knotted the score at 21-21 with 7:33 remaining.
Consecutive treys from O'Keefe gave Bryant back a 27-23 edge,
and the Bulldogs would from there go on a short 7-4 run capped off
by a Kristin Mraz (Johnstown, N.Y.) three for a
34-27 advantage.
But the Blue Devils would score the final five points of the
half to cut their deficit to just two entering the intermission,
34-32.
Bryant shot 43.8 percent for the frame to CCSU's 32.4 percent
success rate, while the Blue Devils took a slight edge on the
glass, 23-21. The Bulldogs went 5-for-10 from long range but
allowed CCSU 12 trips to the line for nine points. O'Keefe led the
game with 15 points in the half.
The Blue Devils knotted the contest at 36-36 just 1:39 into the
second half off two successful free throws from P.J. Wade, but the
Bulldogs would take back their halftime lead and more less than
four minutes in, 43-38, capped off by the first points of the
contest from Johnson, a three-pointer from downtown.
The Bryant lead lingered around the same margin and the teams
went back and forth until Johnson took the home side up by nine
with 12:09 to play, 55-46, on a breakaway pull-up jumper, assisted
by Mraz.
O'Keefe got Bryant its largest lead of the game up to that point
with 11:16 left to play, hitting a pair from the stripe for a 59-46
advantage, and the Bulldogs continued to build on their lead,
turning CCSU turnovers into big points, highlighted by a trey from
sophomore Lindsey Hudspeth (Mount Laurel, N.J.).
Johnson's three with just over eight-and-a-half to play kept the
Bulldogs' momentum going as they pulled away, making the score
67-49 in the home side's favor.
The Blue Devils kept the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly three
minutes, scoring four points of their own in that time, but
Hudspeth completed a three-point play after getting fouled on a
crafty layup from O'Keefe to get three points back for a 70-53
lead.
Central Connecticut brought it back to within 12 points with
just over three minutes to play, and then cut the Bulldog lead to
single digits with 1:52 showing on the clock, 74-65. But the
visitors wouldn't get any closer as the Bulldogs snapped a
four-game losing streak to take an 85-76 victory.
The win moves the Bulldogs to 3-5 against the NEC this season
and marks their seventh win of the year. They also move to 4-2 at
home.
Bryant stays home for a Presidents' Day matchup this Monday,
Feb. 16, when the Bulldogs play host to Wagner College. Tipoff is 7
p.m.
