November 28, 2009

Live Stats / Game Notes

BULLDOGS TAKE ON UNDEFEATED ST. BONAVENTURE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK ON SUNDAY AT 1 PM    

The Bulldogs return to action on Sunday afternoon in the first of a two-game roadtrip to upstate New York. Bryant will play Atlantic-10 afilliate and undefeated St. Bonaventure University. The Bonnies are off to a hot start this season with five straight wins by an average of 31.8 ppg. Bryant enters the contest with a 1-3 overall record after dropping its last game to intrastate rival Brown University in overtime 79-72. The Bulldogs are 1-1 all-time against the Bonnies and were defeated 67-58 last season at the Chace Athletic Center. Bryant continues its road-trip in upstate New York on Tuesday when they travel to Hamilton, N.Y. to face Colgate at 7 p.m.  

BULLDOGS DROP OVERTIME DECISION TO INTRASTATE RIVAL
Forty minutes wasn't enough to decide tonight's intrastate rivalry as the Bryant University women's basketball team overcame a 12 point deficit to tie the game with just 49 seconds remaining in regulation. The battle continued in the extra period but Brown was able to come away with a slim 79-72 victory   The Bulldogs (1-3) were led once again by sophomore Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, Mass.) who scored a new career-high 15 points including a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line. Cowen added eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. A trio of Bulldogs followed Cowen with 11 points each, Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.), Kristin Mraz (Johnson, N.Y.) and Courtney Schermerhorn (Lowell, mass.). Senior captain Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.), who was playing in her first game of the 2009-10 season, recorded nine points in the contest which puts her in fourth place all-time with an even 1400 points. Her game-tying layup with 1:28 remaining in the contest was the bucket that passed former Bulldog Ali Curry.  

The Bears were led offensively by Lindsay Nickel, who went 7-12 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc. Nickel totaled 19 points. The Bulldogs held a one point lead with 6:30 seconds remaining in the first half when the Bears (2-2) went on their run. In the next four minutes, Brown rattled off 14 unanswered points to take an 11 point lead which they held onto for the remainder of the half.    

In the second stanza, Bryant slowly crawled back into the game and was able to tie the game on the O'Keefe layup. Just 20 seconds later Nickel was able to hit her fifth three-pointer of the game for the Bears to take a three point lead with just over one minute to play. Following a Bryant timeout, a Courtney Schermerhorn three-pointer was able to knot things up for the fifth time of the game with just 49 seconds remaining. After outscoring the bears 40-29 in the second half, the Bulldogs seemed to have all the momentum going into the overtime period. Free-throws played a crucial role in overtime as Brown shot 62.5 percent (5-8) compared to Bryant's 16.7 percent (1-6) from the charity stripe. The Bears' Hannah Passafuime scored seven overtime points as Brown outscored the Bulldogs 16-9 in extra time to earn their second consecutive victory over a Northeast Conference team.  

LOOKING AT THE BONNIES FROM ST. BONAVENTURE
After another game-high performance from sophomore Megan Van Tatenhove, the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team defeated Lafayette 58-38 on Tuesday night at Kirby Sports Center. St. Bonaventure is now 5-0 on the young season for the third time in program history and the first time since the start of the 2006-07 season. Lafayette falls to 1-4. Van Tatenhove finished with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds while senior Dana Mitchell finished with 16 points and eight off the glass.  

BONNIES DOWN BULLDOGS IN LAST YEAR'S MEETING
The Bryant University women's basketball team, led by the third double-double of the season from captain Kelsey O'Keefe, hung tough but couldn't hold up against the stiff offense of St. Bonaventure University, falling, 67-58, at the Chace Athletic Center in last season's meeting.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
It's early, but Bryant currently leads the Northeast Conference in total rebounding, averaging 46.5 per game through four on the season. The Bulldogs are also first in the NEC in 3-point field goals made with 30 on the young campaign. Senior captain Kelsey O'Keefe is just 11 points shy of passing Stephanie Ladd for thrid place in all-time scoring with 1411 points.  

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs continue their two-game road trip with a visit to Hamilton, N.Y. to face off with Colgate University, a member of the Patriot League, on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.