January 16, 2010

Box Score

 O'KEEFE POURS IN CAREER-HIGH 34 POINTS AS BULLDOGS UPSET NEC FOE QUINNIPIAC, 72-62

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Senior captain Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) scored a career-high 34 points on Saturday afternoon as the Bryant University women's basketball team upset Quinnipiac to even its Northeast Conference record to 3-3.

Down as many as 10 points in the contest, the Bulldogs (5-11, 3-3 NEC) rallied back and played one of their best games defensively on the season as they forced 21 turnovers, recorded eight blocks and registered nine steals. Bryant also did a great job protecting the ball and committed a season-low 14 turnovers.  

O'Keefe had only six points at the end of the first half before exploding for 28 second-half points. In 30 minutes of play, the captain was 12-17 from the field, including 4-6 from 3-point range. She also made 6-7 free throw attempts. Just one week ago, O'Keefe tied her career-high with 33 points at Monmouth. The 34-point single-game performance is good enough for fifth all-time in the Bryant record books.

The Bobcats (9-8, 4-2 NEC) entered the game in third place in the conference with a 4-1 record, behind only Sacred Heart and Robert Morris, who were both undefeated in conference play. Quinnipiac had two players record double-doubles in this afternoon's action. Jacinda Dunbar registered 21 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and Courtney Kaminski scored 16 and grabbed 11 boards.

Despite O'Keefe shooting 70.5 percent from the field, the Bulldogs were outshot in the contest 34.4 percent to 33.8 percent.

O'Keefe scored five of her six first-half points in the first 2:10 seconds of the game as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. The Bobcats quickly erased the four-point deficit with a 13-1 run of their own to take a 16-8 lead at the halfway point of the first half.

Providing a spark off the bench and keeping things close for Bryant in the first half was the shooting of junior Lindsey Hudspeth (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and the hustle of sophomore Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.). Hudspeth recorded eight points in the first half, including two 3-point field goals while Stahura recorded a half-high six rebounds in just 14 minutes of play off the bench. The Bulldogs had 15 bench-points in the first half but found themselves down, 29-23, after the first twenty minutes of play.  

The Bulldogs and Bobcats traded baskets early in the second half until the 15:04 mark when O'Keefe began to take control. At that point the senior hit the game-tying layup to even the score at 35. In a three minute span, the forward proceeded to score the next 12 Bryant points and give the Bulldogs a 45-41 lead. O'Keefe was near-perfect in the second half, converting on 10-11 shots, all three 3-point attempts and a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. The forward had 10 of the 14 Bulldog's second-half field goals.

It was the Bulldog's excellent second-half free throw shooting that iced the game for Bryant. The Bulldogs shot 89.5 percent (17-19) from the charity stripe in the second stanza. In addition to O'Keefe's five second-half points from the line, senior Kristin Mraz (Johnstown, N.Y.) was 7-8 while freshman Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) went 3-4 in the second period. Mraz recorded a career-high eight assists in the contest. Douglas, making her fifth consecutive start, played a career-high 33 minutes, recording five points, a career-high eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals. The Bulldogs made four consecutive free throws to end the game and seal the, 72-62 victory.

Bryant will finish its three-game homestand on Monday, Jan. 18 when they host Yale in the battle of the Bulldogs at 2 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center.