Bulldogs rally late, but fall to Columbia, 77-74

NEW YORK – The Bryant University women's basketball team nearly completed a remarkable comeback, but Columbia University outscored the Bulldogs by a 43-38 margin in the second half, as the Lions earned a dramatic 77-74 victory over Bryant on Friday afternoon at Levien Gymnasium.

Trailing by seven points with 3:03 left in regulation, the Bulldogs (7-5) tacked on six points in 36 seconds to trim what was once a 16-point lead to one, as strong post play and clutch shooting down low allowed the Bulldogs to move to within 69-68 with 2:27 left.

But the Lions (2-10) were able to muster just enough to keep the visitors at bay, as Columbia picked up just its second win of the season in the first-ever matchup between both programs.

Juniors Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) and Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) combined for 38 points, with Soper leading the team with 16 of her 20 points in the second half alone, but it was not enough to overcome 17 points from Columbia's Melissa Shafer, who did all of her damage in the second frame while leading all players with four three-pointers.

The Bulldogs finished the day shooting a season-high 42.6 percent from the field on a 26-of-61 clip, but the Black and Gold converted just 2-of-27 from long range for a season-low 11.8 percent conversion rate, while allowing the Lions to register an 8-of-19 clip from downtown.

Turnovers also proved costly for Bryant, as its 23 giveaways were nine more than Columbia's 14, allowing the Lions to string together a key run early in the second half to jump out to a big lead that proved to be insurmountable.  The home team was able to convert 30 points off of Bryant turnovers. 

Bryant proved to be strong in the post, earning 11 more boards than Columbia to finish with a 46-35 edge in rebounding and 40 points in the paint compared to just 18 for the Lions.

Bryant took an 11-8 lead within the first five minutes of regulation with Douglas setting the pace early with six points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field.  The Lions roared back to tie it at 15-all on a three by Caitlyn Unsworth, but the Bulldogs retook the lead by moving into the bonus just 6:45 into the first half.

Sloppiness plagued Bryant from that point out, as three straight giveaways allowed Columbia to move ahead, 22-17, at the 11:57 mark on a three by Miwa Tachibana, completing a 7-0 run for the home team. 

Six straight points gave the lead back to Bryant, but no sooner did they have the lead did Columbia take it right back as the fouls began to accumulate for the visitors, moving the Lions into the bonus with more than eight to play in the half while pushing ahead, 24-23. 

The remainder of the half saw both teams go basket-for-basket, as the Lions gave Bryant every bit they could handle en route to taking a 31-29 lead with 3:38 to play.  By that point, both teams were in the double bonus, as nearly every Bulldog player who logged minutes of the first picked up at least one infraction.

Coming off the bench, first-time scorers Kaitlyn Hinck (Bow, N.H.) and Demetria Bell (Braintree, Mass.) provided some timely baskets down the stretch, as a three-point play by the latter propelled Bryant to a one-point lead in the final minutes of the half before sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) added another basket to move the Bulldogs ahead 34-32 before the team eventually rounded out the half with a two-point lead.  The Ontario native finished the game with 19 points, good for second most on the squad.

Douglas led all players with 14 in the first frame, two ahead of Ankoma-Mensa's 12.  The Silver Springs, Md., native also paced the team with four boards in the half.

Bryant added four quick points out of the gate to start the second, but the home team took advantage of some pinpoint shooting from beyond the arc, as Shafer – who was held scoreless in the first half - added a pair of treys to move Columbia in front, 46-40, with 14:57 remaining.

Capitalizing on turnovers and continuing to use the three-ball to their advantage, the Lions quickly went ahead by 15 points – the largest of the game for either team at that point – as Caitlyn Unsworth drilled a trey with 11:25 to go.  But fouls continued to pile up for both teams, as Columbia picked up its 10^th shortly afterward.

After mounting an impressive 10-2 run to claw within six points, Shafer continued her hot shooting in the second frame, as her fourth trey of the half pushed the Lions comfortably back ahead by 11 points, as the home team took a 69-58 lead with under five minutes to play, setting the state for the game's dramatic closing moments.

The Bulldogs will open up 2012 with just their fifth home contest of the year on Tuesday, Jan. 3, when the squad welcomes Army to the Chace Athletic Center.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.

For continuing coverage of Bryant University women's basketball, check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com, and be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.