Monday, December 28, 2009

Box Score

BULLDOGS SECOND HALF COMEBACK FALLS JUST SHORT IN OPENING GAME OF SUN & FUN CLASSIC, LOSE 68-60 TO FIU

MIAMI - After being down 18 points at halftime in the opening game of the 25th FIU Sun & Fun Classic, the Bryant University women's basketball team, led by senior captain Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) and freshman Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.), rallied back to pull within one point with 2:30 remaining in the contest but fell just short down the stretch losing, 68-60.

The Bulldogs (3-8) were led offensively by O'Keefe's game-high 27 and Douglas' career-high 15 points. O'Keefe scored 20 of her 27 in the second half while Douglas registered 11 of her 15 in the ladder as well.

FIU (6-6) had six of their eight players who saw action in the game score nine points or more. Leading the way for the Golden Panthers was Fanni Hutlassa with 13 points. The Panthers had two players who each fell one point short of double-doubles. Elisa Carey scored nine points and recorded a game-high 14 rebounds while Monika Bosilj pulled down 12 boards and registered nine points as well. The 6'5" Maja Krajacic and Carey each had seven blocks en route to a 16 block night for the Panthers.

FIU displayed a balanced attack in the first half as four players scored six or more points to give the Golden Panthers a 41-23 lead after the first 20 minutes. Within the first five minutes the Panthers hit three 3-point shots to jump out to an early 14-4 lead. FIU also added a 9-0 run in the first stanza. The Bulldogs were never able to get it going in the half as they shot a dismal 27.3 percent and committed 11 turnovers.

In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Bryant went on an impressive 25-12 run where all Bulldog points were recorded by O'Keefe and Douglas. During the stretch, the senior captain connected on three shots from beyond the arc while Douglas went a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw stripe.

Over the last 10 minutes, the two teams battled back and forth as the Bulldogs were able to pull within one point when Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) hit both her free-throw shots with just 2:32 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Panther guard Fanni Hutlassa hit a long-range three from the top of the key to put FIU back up four. Douglas was able to pull Bryant back within two on the next possession as she came up with a loose ball in the paint and shot it up over the Panther post players for the final Bryant basket.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over twice in the last 1:17 and had no choice but to foul the Panthers and test their free-throw shooting ability. FIU made six of its last eight free throws to ice the game and move on as the host institution.

Bryant shot 29.2 percent from the field, including 6-17 from beyond the arc. Led by Douglas' 9-10 performance, the Dogs shot 76.2 percent from the charity stripe.

Bryant will return to action tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the consolation game of the 25th annual Sun & Fun Classic. The Bulldogs will play the winner of No. 24 Georgia Tech and Hampton University.