Bulldogs capture third place in the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament, following a 62-56 win over Rams

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak, defeating Rhode Island, 62-56, to capture third place at the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

Charise Wilson regained the lead for the Rams (4-5), 52-51, at the 4:38 mark in the fourth after hitting back-to-back jumpers, but the Bulldogs (4-3) were able to put the game away at the line, connecting on 7-of-8 in the final 4:20 of the game to come out on top, 62-56.

After struggling from the charity stripe in the last four games, the Bulldogs bounced back to shoot a season-best 92.9 percent off 13-for-14, led by freshman Sydney Holloway's (Morgantown, W. Va.) 6-for-6 performance. The forward finished the game with a career-best 16 points off 5-for-14 from the field. Senior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) joined Holloway, scoring 16 points off 6-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line. Both forwards also grabbed a team-high six rebounds, while Holloway joined junior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) and Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) with four steals, respectively. Palmer rounded out Bryant's double-digit scorers, draining a season-high 14 points off 5-of-12 from the field, 3-of-8 from behind the arc and 1-of-2 from the line.

The Bulldogs strung together a 12-4 run, claiming a 16-10 lead at the media timeout in the first. The scoring frenzy included one of three threes from Palmer and a pair of free throws by Klein that gave Bryant a seven point lead, the largest of the half.

Out of the media timeout, the Rams went on an 8-0 run, comprising of Nicole Joegensen's three-point play at the line. Holloway put an end to URI's streak, hitting back-to-back buckets to re-establish Bryant's lead, 20-18, at the end of the first.

The Bulldogs carried that momentum into the start of the second, when freshman Masey Zegarowski (Hamilton, Mass.) and Holloway each notched two points to extend Bryant's run to eight, 24-18. The Rams followed with an 11-5 run that was comprised of three threes, including Morgan Johnson's bucket from downtown that tied the contest, 29-29, with 5:01 to go in the half. An Amari Johnson three-pointer gave URI a one-point margin, 32-31, but Palmer netted her third triple of the game to tie the game, 34-34, with 2:45 to go in the second.

Klein started the third quarter where she left off at the end of the first half, netting back-to-back layups to give the Bulldogs a 40-36 advantage with 8:11 to play in the period. Both teams went quite for two minutes until URI was able to score two-straight, including Wilson's layup that tied the game, 42-42. The Bulldogs scored five-straight points, but a late URI burst in the final few minutes of the quarter, led to a 49-48 Bryant advantage heading into the fourth.

The Bulldogs shot 36.1 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from three, while the Rams hit 34.4 percent from the field, 35.0 percent from downtown and 55.6 percent from the charity stripe. The Black and Gold recorded a season-high 14 steals, led by Ashley, Holloway and Palmer. In the first occurrence of the season, the Bulldogs didn't win the battle on the boards, as both teams finished with 42 total boards. The Rams grabbed 19 to Bryant's 17 offensive boards, as Dominique Ward and Nicole Jorgensen led URI with six, apiece.

 After back-to-back game days, the Bulldogs waste no time, traveling south to battle Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.