SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball team fought back from a 16-point halftime deficit to go up by one with 5:30 to play in the fourth, but Mount St. Mary's reclaimed the lead, dealing the Bulldogs a 61-53 loss on Monday night in Emmitsburg.

The Bulldogs (10-13, 5-7 NEC) were held to a game-low eight points in the first quarter, hitting only three buckets from the floor, while the Mount (8-15, 6-6) totaled two 10+ point runs, shooting 13-for-37 in the first half. The scoring streak gave the Mount a 17-8 margin at the close of the first, totaling Bryant's 14th single-digit scoring quarter this season.

The Mount commanded the second period, racking up an 11-0 run over the course of three minutes. Sophomore Kierra Palmer's (Aberdeen, Md.) layup broke up the Mount's scoring momentarily, until the hosts extended their lead to a game-high 24, 37-13, after scoring seven-unanswered points. The Bulldogs closed out the first half with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back triples from senior Chanel Ramcharran (Pickering, Ont.) and sophomore Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) to pull within 16, 37-21. Ramcharran finished with 10 points off the bench, connecting on 3-of-5 from the floor, while Connors totaled eight points off 3-of-9.

The Bulldogs' 11-2 run to open the third quarter cut the Mount's lead back to single digits, 39-32, as Connors hit her second three of the night in part of the scoring spree. Ashlee White hit one from deep to briefly break up the Bulldogs' momentum, but junior Naomi Ashley's (Hamilton, Ont.) layup with 49 seconds to play in the third pulled Bryant within eight, 42-34. The guard's bunny capped off the Bulldogs' 21-6 run from the 2:12 mark in the second through the end of the third. The Black and Gold's hot shooting resulted in a dominant third quarter, as they outscored the Mount, 13-5. Bryant hit 6-of-13 in the period, while Mount went 1-for-12 from the field.

The Bulldogs stayed hot in the fourth, holding the Mount scoreless from the floor for three minutes, while outscoring the hosts, 10-5, during the stretch. Bryant found their first lead of the game with 5:30 to play, 48-47, following four-straight points from freshman Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.). The Mount recaptured the lead eight seconds later off a three from Katrice Dickinson, as they outscored the Bulldogs, 14-5, in the final minutes, winning, 61-53.

Ashley led the Bulldogs with 15 points off 5-for-9 from the floor and 5-for-8 from the line, while totaling four steals and five rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Alexis Carter led all scorers with 17 points off a 6-for-10 mark from the field, 1-for-3 tally from three and 4-for-6 shooting from the stripe.

Bryant shot 33.3 percent overall, 31.3 percent from deep and 66.7 percent from the line. Mount topped the Bulldogs in all three areas, finishing 38.8 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from behind the arc and 68.2 percent from the chalk.

The Black and Gold outrebounded the Mount, 43-30, scoring 20 second-chance points off 18 offensive boards. Senior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds, including four offensively. Mount converted 20 Bryant turnovers into 22 points, while the Bulldogs scored 16 points off 12 Mount turnovers.

The Black and Gold return to Smithfield for a four-game home stint, beginning with St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 1 p.m.