February 11, 2010

Box Score

 BULLDOGS SCORE SEASON-HIGH, DEFEAT SAINT FRANCIS (PA) 89-76 ON THURSDAY

SMITHFIELD, RI - Led by sophomore Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, Mass.) and freshman Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.), the Bryant University women's basketball team poured in a season-high 89 points as it defeated Saint Francis (PA) 89-76 on Thursday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

With the win the Bulldogs matched last season's win total and improved to 11-13 overall and 8-5 in the Northeast Conference. The Bulldogs had four players score in double figures with Cowen leading all scorers with a career-high 23 points, 18 of which came in the first half. The sophomore shot an outstanding 8-12 from the field and 4-7 from 3-point range. She also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists.

"Cowen's hard work and the individual time she puts in shooting has really paid off this season," said Coach Mary Burke.  

Soper added a career-high 18 points on 8-13 shooting including 2-3 from long range. Junior Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) shot a perfect 100 percent on the day going 4-4 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line for a total of 14 points. The forward added eight rebounds. Senior Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) fell one rebound short of her fourth double-double of the season scoring 13 points and grabbing nine boards.

Saint Francis (PA) (9-14, 6-7 NEC) saw four players score in double figures as well as Britney Hodges led the way with 20 points. Following close behind was Brittany Lilley who scored 17 points and pulled down five boards off the bench.

The Bulldogs exploded for a season-high 54 first-half points and shot a season-high 69 percent in the period as they jumped out to a 54-37 lead over Saint Francis (PA) after 20 minutes of play. Bryant was 20-29 from the field including 6-11 from beyond the arc in the first period.

Bryant had two players in double-figures at the halfway mark with Cowen leading the way. In the first half Cowen had already eclipsed her career-high of 15 as she poured in 18 points. The sophomore guard was 6-8 from the field including 3-5 from beyond the arc. Soper shot a perfect 100 percent in the first half going 6-6 from the field and 2-2 from long range for a total of 14 first-half points.

Once again the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead with a 3-point bucket just eight seconds into the game, this time from Soper. The teams played back and forth basketball over the next few minutes before Bryant took off on a 16-3 run. The run, which occurred over a five and a half minute span, gave the Bulldogs a 15-point, 30-15 lead with 8:41 remaining in the half.

Bryant continued its hot shooting and extended its lead to a half-high 20 points on a Kelsey O'Keefe 3-point bucket. The O'Keefe trey eclipsed the 50-point mark in the first half with 2:02 left on the clock. Coming into the game Bryant had failed to score 54 points total in four previous games.

Soper and Cowen picked up right where they left off in the second half as Soper hit her first field goal of the half just 1:38 into the period and Cowen poured a baseline jumper in just two minutes later.

O'Keefe added to the action in the second stanza as she recorded six points within the first seven and a half minutes.

A Samantha Leach 3-point bucket with 8:42 remaining jumpstarted a 7-2 run for the Flash. The run pulled Saint Francis (PA) back to, 72-63, and within single digits for the first time since the 11 minute mark of the first period.  

Bryant countered the Red Flash run with an 11-4 streak of their own to take an 83-67 lead with just under three minutes remaining. The run was capped by Cowen's fourth 3-point bucket of the contest.

The Red Flash outscored the Bulldogs 9-6 over the last few minutes to bring the final score to 89-76.

The Black and Gold outshot the Red Flash 57.9 percent to 38.2 percent from the field and 43.8 percent to 36 percent from 3-point range.

Coach Burke added, "It was nice to have such a high scoring output against a tough Northeast Conference opponent tonight."

The Bulldogs will host Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 1 p.m. in the Chace Athletic Center. The Colonials are currently tied for first in the conference with an 11-1 league mark. With a 91-80 win last season, RMU currently leads the series one game to none.