SOUTHERN OWLS DEFEAT BRYANT WOMEN, 73-46
 
     NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Babette Noah scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Southern Connecticut women's basketball team to a 73-46 win over Bryant University in Northeast-10 Conference action Saturday afternoon at the James Moore Fieldhouse in New Haven.  Sophomore Kate Lynch (Rumford, RI) had 15 points as the Owls improved to 4-2 overall (3-2 NE-10).  The Bulldogs, led by Joanna Skiba's (Providence, RI) game-high 23 points, drops to 1-4 overall and 0-4 in conference play.
 
   The Bulldogs opened the game ice-cold offensively.  Following a Joanna Skiba (Providence, RI) steal and layup, the Bulldogs were outscored by the Owls, 21-7 over the next 16 minutes before a Megan Peper (Castleton, NY) turnaround jumper in the lane made it 21-11 with 3:49 left in the half. It was just the second field goal of the half for the Bulldogs.  
 
    After a Southern basket, Skiba would answer with a three from the right side and Lauren Rubenoff (New Hartford, Conn.) would add a bucket in the paint to make it 24-16, prompting a quick Southern Connecticut timeout.  The Owls would respond with a pair of baskets by Noah and a deep three from Shamika Jackson to give the hosts a 31-20 lead at the half.
 
   In the second, the Owls opened with a 13-5 run following a Lynch baseline jumper, but following a jumper in the lane and a three by Skiba, the Bulldogs closed to within 46-33.  But following Skiba's basket, the Owls put the game away with another 14-2 run. 
 
  Rubenoff finished with eight points and five rebounds while Peper had four points for the Bulldogs.  Bryant shot 25.5 percent from the floor (13 of 51) and turned the ball over 24 times in the game.  Shamika Jackson had 13 points including three 3-pointers for Southern.  Noah, a native of Cameroon and graduate of CCRI, was 9 of 13 from the floor and finished with four steals.

    The Bulldogs will host Adelphi on Monday for a non-conference game starting at 7 pm at the Chace Athletic Center.