February 16, 2008

BULLDOGS KEEP WINNING AT HOME, TAKE 71-53 VICTORY OVER WAGNER MONDAY NIGHT

Boxscore

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Led by double-doubles from captains Cara Johnson (Endicott, N.Y.) and Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.), the Bryant University women's basketball team won back-to-back games for the first time this season, topping future Northeast Conference opponent Wagner, 71-53, Monday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

Johnson led the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season while O'Keefe notched her 10th double-double of the year with 19 points and 10 boards in the win, pacing a team that shot 46.3 percent from the field to move to 8-16 on the season.

The game stayed fairly even in the opening minutes, with Bryant taking a slight four-point edge off a Johnson three-pointer - her second of four on the day - 3:15 into the contest, 11-7.

But after the seven-minute mark the Bulldogs (8-16) started to build their lead on the Seahawks (7-18), taking an 18-10 advantage with 11:44 to play and extending that lead to as many as 10 points, 24-14, before taking a 30-23 edge into the intermission.

The Bulldogs outshot Wagner, 40 percent to 24.2 percent in the frame, with Johnson scoring 13 of her 20 points in the opening 20 minutes. Bryant was a dismal 20 percent from the line, connecting on just 2-of-10 freebie opportunities.

But in the second half, Bryant quickly remounted a double-digit advantage with another Johnson long ball just 28 seconds in and kept the margin hovering around 10 for much of the half.

Bryant upped their advantage even more in the final six minutes, moving their lead to 15 points, 60-45, off a fast break layup from junior Courtney Schermerhorn (Lowell, Mass.) with just under four minutes to play.

And with the lead staying at 15 as the clock ticked under two minutes, the Seahawks had no choice but to start fouling. Bryant stretched their lead to 18 on 5-of-6 shooting from the foul line in the final two minutes to take a 71-53 final tally and complete back-to-back wins for the first time all season.

O'Keefe registered a trio of blocks to top off her double-double performance, also chipping in three assists. Schermerhorn had a team-best five helpers, while Jaime Campbell (Springfield, Mass.) pulled down seven boards and added seven points in a strong 17 minutes of floor time.

The Bulldogs outrebounded Wagner, 50-45, and went 7-for-17 from downtown on the day.

The Bulldogs now take to the road again, travelling to NJIT for a Wednesday night (7 p.m.) matchup before returning home for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 21 (1 p.m.).