January 8, 2011

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Sophomore Danielle Douglas (Silver Spring, Md.) scored 18 points and sophomore Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) added 15 points as the Bryant University women's basketball team knocked off St. Francis (NY), 59-48, in Northeast Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

The Bulldogs (4-10, 1-2 NEC) benefited from a strong opening 20 minutes as the team used a 19-point halftime lead to help pick up their first conference win of the season. St. Francis (NY) fell to 2-11 overall and 0-3 in conference play with the loss.       

Douglas shot 6-for-12 from the floor and 6-for-8 at the free throw line for 18 points, one tally short of matching her career-high. Whittington was 3-for-5 from 3-point range while senior Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 point and five rebounds. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 46 percent from the field while the Terriers shot at a 33 percent clip.   

The Bulldogs jumped out of the gate for the early lead as Bennett controlled the opening tip and ended up finishing the possession with a layup. From there, both teams traded baskets until junior Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.) followed a short jumper with a strong drive to the hoop to give the Bulldogs a 15-10 advantage at the 15:30 mark. Stahura's back-to-back scores started a 10-2 run for the home side, highlighted by a pair of layups from Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.), until a 3-pointer from Autumn Lau cut Bryant's lead to 23-14 with 12:47 left in the half.

Bryant improved on its lead over the next eight minutes as a Douglas jump shot pushed the Bulldogs up, 32-21, with 5:19 remaining in the stanza. Bennett continued the attack on the next play with a strong drive to right side as she maneuvered around her defender for the impressive lay-in. The Terriers were able to cut Bryant's lead to 12 on a jumper from Kim Snauwaert but the Bulldogs responded with a 7-1 run in the final minutes of the half to give the home squad a 43-24 lead at intermission.

Douglas led all scorers with 13 points in the opening half as she shot 4-for-6 from the field and added five free throws. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 53 percent on 17-of-32 shooting from the floor while the Terriers shot 33 percent.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with a steal from Douglas and a strong finish to the basket by Whittington. The duo duplicated the play two minutes later except this time Whittington was fouled on the shot and knocked down a pair of free throws for the 47-24 Bulldog lead at 16:56.

Autumn Lau ended St. Francis' drought with a 3-pointer at 16:10 for the 20-point deficit. She then tried to continue the pressure a few plays later with a drive down low but Bennett rejected Lau's shot with a thundering block to halt the Terrier attack. Douglas took over on the next few plays with back-to-back jumpers but St. Francis answered with a 12-0 run over the next seven-plus minutes, cutting Bryant's lead to 52-40.

The 12-point margin was as close as the Terriers came to a comeback, however, as Whittington drilled a trey and Bennett followed with a couple of baskets inside to push the Bulldog lead back up to 19 points as the home team hung on for the 59-48 victory.         

The Black and Gold return to NEC action on Monday, January 10 when they host Long Island at 7:00 p.m.