December 6, 2009

Live Stats / Video / Game Notes

BULLDOGS LOOK FOR THREE IN A ROW ON MONDAY, HOST BINGHAMTON AT 7 PM

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Just three days after picking up their first Northeast Conference victory of the 2009-10 season, the Bulldogs are back in action tonight when they play host to Binghamton University. The Bulldogs are 0-1 all-time against the America East affiliate, with the only meeting coming last season at Binghamton. The Bearcats defeated Bryant by a score of 68-61. Bryant is 3-4 overall entering tonight's matchup and currently on a two-game winning streak. The Bearcats are 1-5 on the year with their lone win coming in overtime at Siena.

BULLDOGS RECOVER FROM SLOW START, DEFEAT TERRIERS 55-41
After being down as much as 11 points in the first half, the Bryant University women's basketball team used stifling defense to rally and earn its first Northeast Conference victory, defeating St. Francis (NY) 55-41.

The Bulldogs (3-4, 1-0) were led offensively by junior Siamone Bennett's (Newburgh, N.Y.) 17 points and nine rebounds. Bennett was 5-9 from the field and 7-11 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, Mass.) hit three key shots from beyond the arc en route to her 10 points.

Bryant's defense held St. Francis (NY) (0-6, 0-1) to just 14 points and only four made field goals in the second half. The Bulldogs also out-rebounded the Terriers by a margin of 45-38.

Bryant got off to a slow start this evening as they fell behind 11 points just halfway into the first period, but with five minutes remaining in the half and the Bulldogs down 27-18, Bennett sparked the run. The post-player hit a layup with 4:52 remaining to pull the Dogs within 7, which was followed up by a Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) three-point bucket with just over three minutes remaining. Bennett went back to work down low hitting another layup and later drawing a foul with 31 seconds remaining, giving her a chance to tie the game before the half. The junior hit both free-throws and knotted things up at 27. The free-throws completed a 9-0 run for BU.

The second half was all about defense for the Bulldogs. Bryant only allowed four field goals all half and limited the Terriers to a 17.4 percent shooting mark for the second stanza. Cowen led the way for her squad in the second half recording nine of her 10 points in the final 20 minutes. With just under 12 minutes remaining the Bulldogs were down 37-32 when Cowen displayed her range. She hit back-to-back three-point shots within 45 seconds of one another to give the Bulldogs the 38-37 lead. Bryant would never give the lead back to St. Francis (NY).

With 5:40 remaining on the clock Cowen hit her third and final three-point shot of the day to give Bryant the five point lead. The Bulldogs would cruise from there to win the game by a margin of 14 points. Bryant didn't allow a St. Francis basket over the final six minutes.

Another spark for the Bulldogs was the play off the bench and in particular, sophomore Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.). The forward worked hard down low grabbing crucial offensive rebounds to give Cowen and the Bulldogs multiple second chance opportunities. Stahura recorded four points.

The Terriers were led offensively by Jacinda Williams who scored 11 points. Tiara Dunson registered 11 rebounds to go with her seven points. The Bulldogs shot 40 percent (8-20) from beyond the arc.

BULLDOGS DEFEAT COLGATE 82-74
The Bryant University women's basketball team picked up its first road victory of the 2009-10 campaign in the last game of a two-game road trip to upstate New York. The Bulldogs scored a season-high 82 points defeating the Red Raiders 82-74. Senior captain Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) scored a game-high 21 points, good enough to move her into third place all-time on the Bulldog scoring list. O'Keefe now has 1,428 career points.

The Bulldogs improved to 2-4 on the season with the victory as the Raiders drop to 5-2. O'Keefe picked up her first double-double of her senior campaign recording a game-high 14 rebounds to go with her 21 points. Junior Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) added 20 points and seven rebounds for Bryant. Bennett was followed up by sophomore Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, Mass.), who recorded 12 points and shot 3-5 from outside.

The Red Raiders were led offensively by three players, Sami Kozlowski (17 points), Tricia Oakes (16 points) and Candice Green (15 points). Center Krista Moser pulled down 13 boards for the Gate.

The Bulldogs shot 43.1 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Raiders by a margin of 49-39.

LOOKING AT THE BEARCATS
Binghamton, a member of the America East conference, is 1-5 on the season with its lone win coming in overtime at Siena. Most recently, the Bearcats lost a close game to Niagra University on Saturday by a score of 57-52. Leading the way for the Bearcats was senior guard Erica Carter who hit a career-high six three-point shots in the game. Another sharpshooting Bearcat guard, Andrea Holmes is averaging 14.8 ppg who earlier in the season tied a school record with eight treys at Siena.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Through the first seven games, Bryant is leading the Northeast Conference in rebounding margin averaging 9.4 boards more than their opponent. The Bulldogs also sit in first place in rebounding offense averaging 45.6 per contest. Bryant has also hit 48 three-pointers through the first seven games, good enough for second place in the NEC. Sophomore Lekia Cowen's 55.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc is good enough for second in the NEC. Cowen sits in third place in the conference with 15 three-point shots made on the season. Junior Siamone Bennett is tops in the NEC when it comes to offensive rebounds. Bennett has accumulated 35 offensive boards, averaging 5 per game.

O'KEEFE MOVES INTO 3RD PLACE ALL-TIME
With a layup just 1:26 into the Bulldogs 82-74 victory at Colgate on Tuesday, senior captain Kelsey O'Keefe passed Stephanie Ladd for thrid place all-time  on the Bryant scoring list. O'Keefe now has 1,428 career points. O'Keefe added 14 rebounds to record her first double-double of the season and the 25th of her career.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will head to Brooklyn, N.Y. for a date with the Blackbirds of Long Island University on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. The matchup will be the second NEC game of the season for the Bulldogs.