January 23, 2010
Box
Score
BULLDOGS BATTLE BUT FALL SHORT IN FAIRFIELD, DOWNED 77-68 BY
SHU
FAIRFIELD, CONN. - Despite having three players score in double
figures, including a game-high 22 from senior Kelsey
O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.), the Bryant University women's
basketball team could not pull off the upset over Sacred Heart on
the road Saturday afternoon.
Once again, the Bulldogs (7-12, 4-4) were led by senior captain
O'Keefe and her 22 points, seven rebounds and season-high five
assists. 14 of her 22 came in the second half of action. Sophomore
Brittany Stahura (Amseterdam, N.Y.) played a great
game for the Bulldogs recording a career-high 15 points. The
forward was 4-7 from the field and 7-9 from the free throw line.
Classmate Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, Mass.) added
eight second-half points of her own en route to her 10-point
night.
Sacred Heart (14-5, 7-1) saw all three starting guards register
17 points. Junior Maggie Cosgrove was 6-9 from the field including
5-7 from long range. Cosgrove has now hit 55 3-point shots on the
year. Pioneer captain Alisa Apo and freshman Kiley Evans also
recorded 17 points for SHU. Forward Callan Taylor recorded her 11th
double-double of the season netting 15 points and pulling down 11
boards. It was Taylor's third consecutive double-double.
After being down as many as 10 points in the first half, the
Bulldogs battled back over the final 10 minutes of the period to
bring the score to, 38-33, after the first 20 minutes. Midway
through the half the Pioneers went on an 8-2 run to take the 27-17
lead with 7:42 remaining. After a timeout called by Coach Mary
Burke, the Bulldogs responded quickly with a 3-point bucket from
freshman guard Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.).
With Bryant down 10 points with only 3:40 remaining in the first
stanza, Stahura made back-to-back layups for the Bulldogs bringing
her squad back to within six points with 2:50 on the clock. Bryant
junior Lindsey Hudspeth (Mount Laurel, N.J.) was
fouled on a 3-point shot with 40 seconds remaining in the period.
Hudspeth knocked down all three to bring the Bulldogs as close as
three points but an Apo layup with 29 seconds left brought the
score to the 5-point halftime spread.
The junior led all scorers with 15 points at the half. Apo was
4-6 from the field and 6-10 from the free throw line. The guard
also added seven rebounds in the first half.
It was only halftime and Stahura had already set a career-high
in points. Her 11 points led the way for the Bulldogs in the first
half on 4-6 shooting. She was also 3-5 from the free throw line.
O'Keefe added eight first-half points and three assists.
Despite SHU's Cosgrove, the nation's second leading 3-point
shooter, hitting three long-range buckets in the first 8:30 minutes
of the second half, O'Keefe and the Bulldogs battled back and
knotted the game up at 60 apiece with 10:40 remaining in the game.
With the ball never hitting the hardwood, Stahura passed it down
into the paint to Soper who was able to tap the ball over to
O'Keefe for the uncontested, game-tying layup.
Following a Sacred Heart bucket with 9:25 remaining on the
clock, O'Keefe struck again to knot things up at 62. The Pioneers
closed the game on a 15-6 run to defeat the Bulldogs, 77-68 on
Saturday afternoon.
The Pioneers outshot the Bulldogs 47.2 percent to 39.3 percent
in the game and outrebounded Bryant by a margin of, 44-32. The
biggest difference of the action was the 3-point shooting. Sacred
Heart shot an amazing 71.4 percent (10-14) from beyond the arc
while Bryant hit just 21.4 percent (3-14).
Bryant will return home and continue Northeast Conference action
in the first of a three-game homestand on Thursday, January 28,
when the Bulldogs host Fairleigh Dickinson at 5 p.m. in the Chace
Center. Bryant will be looking to avenge its 20-point loss at FDU
earlier in the month.
