Bulldogs fall at Holy Cross, 75-55, Saturday afternoon

WORCESTOR, MASS. – Despite near double-double efforts from senior Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) and graduate student Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.), the Bryant University women's basketball team fell to Holy Cross, 75-55, Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center.

Plagued by turnovers throughout the contest, the Bulldogs (1-4) struggled to find any type of consistency in their lowest scoring output of the 2013-14 season thus far.

Ankoma-Mensa paced the Bulldogs with 15 points and nine boards in 31 minutes, while Soper added 12 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Senior point guard Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) chipped in 10 points (all in the second half) to go along with five assists, two blocks and two steals. Sophomore forward Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio) put up eight points and six rebounds in 25 minutes, looking solid in just her second game of the year.

Alex Smith led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Emily Parker and Brisje Malone added 14 and 12, respectively, to round out Holy Cross's double-digit scorers.

Holy Cross came roaring out of the gates opening up a 9-6 advantage less than three minutes into the contest. However, after leading scorer Raquel Scott was forced to the bench after picking up her second foul, the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run to take a 15-11 lead at the 13:06 mark of the first half.

However, the Crusaders responded with a 10-1 run of their own over the next four minutes to open up a 21-16 advantage, their largest of the game to that point. The hosts continued to extend their lead over the final minutes of the first half, taking a 36-24 edge into the halftime break.

Soper and Ankoma-Mensa led Bryant with seven points apiece at halftime, but Smith's 13 points proved to be the difference in the first 20 minutes of play.

The start of the second half brought on sluggish play from both sides but Holy Cross pressure forced the Bulldogs into three-straight turnovers as the hosts opened up a 50-32 advantage at the under-twelve media break.

The Crusaders balanced second-half attack, led by Malone, was too much for the Black and Gold to overcome as the hosts cruised to a 75-55 victory to remain perfect through three games.

The Bulldogs will have some well-deserved time off over the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to action in Smithfield on Sunday, Dec. 1 vs. New Hampshire (1 p.m.).

For all the latest news on the Bryant University women's basketball team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.