AMHERST, MASS. – After drawing even at the end of the third, the Bryant University women's basketball team allowed Massachusetts a 16-0 run to start the fourth, and could never recover, as they fell, 68-62, in Amherst on Saturday afternoon.

After completely unraveling in the first 6:17 of the final quarter, the Bulldogs responded to the Minutewomen's 16-point lead, putting together a 9-0 run to pull within seven, 66-59, with 2:02 to play. After hitting the last bucket in the third to tie it, 50-50, freshman Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) ended the Bulldogs' dry spell after hitting a short jumper from the block to ignite Bryant's response in the fourth. Bryant's counter pulled them within seven, 66-59, after senior Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) hit a deep two with 2:02 to play. The Black and Gold fought to within six off a Holloway layup as time expired, resulting in the Minutewomen's 68-62 victory.

Holloway led the Bulldogs with a career-high 17 points, hitting 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the line. The rookie also finished with eight of the team's 45 rebounds, as Bryant won the battle on the glass by eight. Olander backed Holloway with 12 points and led Bryant with nine boards. The Minutewomen were led by Hailey Leidel's 23 points, as highlighted by her 5-for-5 mark from deep, 8-for-13 overall and 2-for-2 from the line.

The Bulldogs shot 38.5 percent from the field, 20 percent from three and 75 percent from the line, while UMass hit 43.8 percent from the floor, 58.3 percent from behind the arc and 38.5 percent from the charity stripe. Bryant limited itself to the team's second-fewest turnovers (15) and dished out 20 assists, just one behind its season high.

The Bulldogs led through the whole first quarter, finding their largest lead, 18-12, off an Olander jumper from the elbow with 1:39 on the clock. Sophomore Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) was hot in the opening 10, hitting the Bulldogs' only two threes in the first half.

 From the 0:35 mark in the first to the 9:45 mark in the second, UMass went on an 8-2 run, allowing them to tie the contest, 20-20, off back-to-back buckets from downtown. After leading for 12:50, the Bulldogs' gave up their advantage when Ryan Holder's layup gave the home team a one-point edge, 24-23, with 7:10 to play in the second. A string of Bryant turnovers led to a UMass 6-0 run, but the Bulldogs responded back with six-straight points of their own to reclaim the lead, 31-30, off a Chanel Ramcharran (Pickering, Ont.) jumper with 2:52 to play in the period.

Leidel would earn the lead back for UMass, after hitting back-to-back threes to give the hosts their largest advantage of the game, 36-31, with 39 seconds to play in the second. The Bulldogs would cut the deficit to three off a layup from Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.), 36-33, with eight ticks on the clock. The score stood as the game went into the break.

After coming out flat to start the second half, the Bulldogs picked it up on both ends of the floor, going on a 9-0 run thanks in part to Palmer's three-point play from the line and Holloway's jumper to hand Bryant back the lead, 44-43, with 5:14 to go in the third. The remainder of the quarter saw a lead change and three ties, including Holloway's layup that tied the game, 50-50, as the period expired.  

It was nearly all UMass Amherst in the fourth, as its 16-point lead proved to be too much to come back from in three minutes, and the Bulldogs fell, 68-62.

The Black and Gold return to Smithfield to host Maine on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. and UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 4 p.m., before beginning conference play after the holiday break.