January 5, 2008

SAINT ROSE SNAPS BRYANT'S WINNING STREAK AT NINE WITH 85-71 WIN SATURDAY AFTERNOON

JUNIOR GUARD CARA JOHNSON

Boxscore

ALBANY, NY - Saint Rose sophomore Elizabeth Buckley scored 27 second-half points and a career-high 32 total points - including hitting 6-of-9 from 3-point range - to snap the Bryant University women's basketball team's winning streak at nine games and hand the Bulldogs their first loss since Nov. 28, 85-71.

Bryant (11-3) dropped to 6-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference with the loss, despite getting a career-high 19 points from sophomore guard Courtney Schermerhorn (Lowell, Mass.) The Bulldogs led Saint Rose (5-7, 2-6), 37-35 at the half despite getting behind early in the opening frame, but the Golden Knights came out firing after the break to quickly take over a lead they wouldn't relinquish just 3:40 into second-half play.

From the opening tipoff, the Knights proved they were ready to play, and more importantly, proved they were ready to play defense against the offensive-minded Bulldog squad.

A Cara Johnson (Endicott, NY) steal of a cross-court pass and resulting basket gave Bryant a 7-4 lead 2:25 into the game, but it was the last edge the Bulldogs would see until 3:30 left in the frame. Saint Rose tripled teamed the usually sharpshooting sophomore Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) and overpowered Bryant with tough defensive play, keeping the Bulldogs at bay for most of the opening frame.

Saint Rose's leading scorer, junior guard Dana Brown, got the offense going for the home team, scoring her squad's first eight points and giving Saint Rose its first lead, 8-7, at the 16:33 mark. The Golden Knights continued to up their lead, forcing Bryant to take its first timeout at the 11:55 mark with Saint Rose up, 28-16.

But while the Knights shot 11-for-17 in the first 9:45 of the contest - backed by 3-for-3 shooting from downtown by Amy Voelkel - Bryant began to settle into its own game around the 10-minute mark, holding the Golden Knights to just seven points for the final 11:55 of the half (2-for-16) and keeping them scoreless for nearly six minutes of that span.

The Bulldogs drew to within two after Johnson picked Brown's pocket and drove to the basket and finally evened the score at 31-31 with a Johnson bucket with 5:06 to play before the break.

The Bulldogs would enter halftime with a 37-35 edge, with Johnson doing most of the scoring (11 points) and O'Keefe limited to just three points.

But early in the second half, two consecutive treys from Buckley gave Saint Rose back the 45-42 lead, and the Golden Knights took a double-digit advantage, 60-50, at the 10-minute mark on Buckley's fifth 3-pointer of the game.

Then, down 61-52 with 9:21 still to play in the contest, the Bulldogs found themselves in major foul trouble, when O'Keefe was called for her fourth foul, forcing her to join Johnson, who received her fourth foul six minutes into the second frame, and Kristin Mraz (Johnstown, NY) (three fouls) on the bench.

The closest Bryant would come to the home team wouldn't come until the 1:56 mark, when O'Keefe went deep from 3-point land and stole the ball back for an easy layup to bring the score back to 74-66.

But 11-of-37 shooting in the second half, added to Saint Rose's 23-of-29 accuracy from the line in the closing frame alone, would spell the end for the Bryant women and their winning streak, for a final score of 85-71.

Despite the loss and the foul trouble, O'Keefe managed her third double-double of the year (16 points, 11 rebounds) while senior captain Lynne-Ann Kokoski (Hatfield, Mass.) led the Bulldogs with eight assists. Saint Rose's Ashley Anderson (11 points, 12 boards) and Emily Gottstein (15 points, 12 boards) each registered double-doubles of their own.

Bryant will return home on Tues., Jan. 8 to host Assumption College at 5:30 p.m. in the Chace Athletic Center. This will be the second regular-season meeting between the Bulldogs and the Greyhounds, as Bryant looks to avenge its 79-49 road loss back on Nov. 28.