February 25, 2010

 BULLDOGS PICK UP 13TH WIN IN ROAD FINALE, DEFEAT ST. FRANCIS (NY) 73-58

Boxscore

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY - Led by Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) and Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) on the offensive end and sophomore Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.) on the class, the Bryant University women's basketball team picked up its 13th win of the season Thursday night as it defeated St. Francis (NY) 73-58.

Bryant's (13-15, 10-7 NEC) tri-captain O'Keefe scored a game-high 22 points while Bennett added 19 in the Bulldogs' victory. O'Keefe scored 16 in the first half and Bennett tallied 16 of her own in the second. Stahura added a career-high 14 rebounds in the contest, 10 of which were offensive.

St. Francis (NY) (2-26, 1-16 NEC) was led by its leading scorer Autumn Lau who scored 15 points, 13 in the second half. Tiara Dunson was the only other Terrier in double figures as she recorded 10.

The Bulldogs outshot the Terriers 40 percent to 29.5 percent from the field in the game. O'Keefe and Bennett dominated down low as the Black and Gold outscored St. Francis (NY) 32-16 in the paint.  

Senior tri-captain Kristin Mraz (Johnstown, N.Y.) added a game-high eight assists.

With the win the Bulldogs move into a three-way tie for fourth place with Monmouth and Saint Francis (PA). Bryant defeated Monmouth twice and Saint Francis (PA) once this season.

O'Keefe kicked off the action for the Bulldogs 2:20 into the game with a 3-point bucket from straight away to give her squad the early 3-0 lead. She scored the first 10 Bulldog points as BU jumped out to a 10-0 lead with 15:30 remaining in the first half.  Bryant didn't allow a St. Francis (NY) basket until the 14:42 mark of the game when Melissa Weithman hit her only 3-pointer of the game.

The Terriers started the game 1-15 from the floor. However, with the exception of O'Keefe, the Bulldogs did not shoot well to start the action as well as they were 3-18 from the field to start. St. Francis (NY) shook off the early jitters and was able to climb back to within four points, down 19-15, with 6:10 left in the half.

That wouldn't last long though as O'Keefe hit another straight-away 3-pointer on the next Bryant possession. O'Keefe's three would be the last bucket for the Bulldogs for the next 2:46 as the Terriers went on a 9-0 run to take a 24-22 lead with 3:35 remaining in the half. The run was in large part to the St. Francis (NY) defense as it forced two turnovers which led to points. The run gave the Terriers its first and only lead of the game.

That would be all the scoring for St. Francis (NY) in the half as Bryant closed first-half action on a 7-0 run to take a 29-24 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes of play. O'Keefe ended the stanza with 16 points on 5-10 shooting from the field. She was 3-6 from long-range. Stahura worked hard down low throughout the entire first half accumulating a career-high 10 boards in the half. The sophomore had nine in the first seven minutes of play.

Bryant outshot St. Francis (NY) 33.3 percent to 21.9 percent in the first half. The Terriers were 2-14 from 3-point range in the half but knocked down 8-9 free throws. The Bulldogs shot 46.2 percent (6-13) from the charity strip in the half.

The Bulldogs started the second half with much better shooting as they began 4-5 from the field to expand their lead to 42-33 with 16:27 left in regulation. Bennett started the half well with six of Bryant's 13 points.

Following a St. Francis (NY) free throw, the Bulldogs went on an 11-0 run to take a 55-38 lead with 10:27 remaining in the game. The 17-point margin was the largest of the game for the Bulldogs thus far. Stahura created multiple second chance opportunities for the Bulldogs during the run as she grabbed numerous offensive rebounds for her squad as she brought her rebound total to 14.

With a Lindsey Hudspeth (Mount Laurel, N.J.) 3-point bucket with just under seven minutes remaining the Bulldogs extended their largest margin of the game to 19 points, 62-43.

Bennett continued to control the post throughout the second half as she upped her total to 19 points by scoring 16 in the period as the Bulldogs cruised to a 15-point, 73-58 victory over the Terriers.  

Tonight's ride back to Smithfield will be the last trip of the season for the Bulldogs as they return home to the friendly confines of the Chace Athletic Center for their final game of the 2009-10 season on Saturday. Bryant will host second-place Long Island University at 1 p.m. on senior day. With a win the Bulldogs would end their second season at the DI level ranked fourth in the Northeast Conference.