Bulldogs pull through in second half, beating Knights, 56-48, Monday night

HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Bryant University women's basketball team bounced back from a rocky start to put the pieces of the puzzle together in the second half, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson, 56-48, on Monday night in New Jersey.

Freshman Masey Zegarowski (Hamilton, Mass.) continued to find ways to contribute offensively, catching fire in the third, as she knocked down back-to-back threes to regain the lead for the Bulldogs, 37-36, with 5:05 to go in the quarter. The rookie's confidence continued to grow, as she pump faked her defender, driving and finishing lefty on the ensuing play. Zegarowski finished with a career-high 14 points off 5-for-8 from the floor.

The Bulldogs found their largest lead of the game, 49-42, after starting the fourth on an 8-2 run. FDU went scoreless for over four minutes, but responded back to Bryant's run with back-to-back threes, including Madelynn Comly's triple that pulled the Knights within one, 49-48, with 2:39 to play. Coming off 50 percent shooting from three last game, sophomore Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) drilled a triple with the shot clock winding down to give Bryant a 52-48 advantage with 1:26 to go. The Bulldogs put the game away at the line, hitting 4-of-6 to defeat the Knights, 56-48.

Senior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) joined Zegarowski with a game-high 14 points. Klein went a perfect 8-for-8 from the line, while the Bulldogs went 81.5 percent from the charity stripe. The Black and Gold finished 15-of-42 from the floor and 4-for-13 from three-point land.

Freshman Stephanie Lesko (Rumson, N.J.) hit a wide-open three off the skip pass from junior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) to open the game, but the Bulldogs then went dry for 5:57, as the Knights enjoyed an 8-0 run to lead, 8-3, at the media timeout in the first. Klein snapped the spell, hitting a jumper in the paint to pull Bryant within three, 8-5, with 3:54 to play in the opening stanza.

The Black and Gold found themselves in the bonus following an FDU foul with 3:21 to play in the first, in which Bryant took advantage, going 6-for-6 from the line when in the bonus. The Bulldogs struggled to rebound out of their zone defense, giving up seven offensive boards including Amina Markovic's that was converted into two points from the line, tying the contest, 13-13, at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter alone saw eight lead changes and six tied scores, as Jenna Clark's third three of the game gave the Knights a 30-29 lead after 20 minutes of play. The lead changes were in part to sloppy play from both sides, as Bryant went into half with 11 turnovers, while the Knights committed eight. Both teams combined for 27 personal fouls, which played out well for Bryant, as the visitors went 14-for-16 from the line, while FDU connected on 8-of-9. Sophomore Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) led the way at the stripe, going 8-for-8.

The Bulldogs outrebounded the Knights, 41-26, but gave up 16 offensive boards in the contest. The coughed up the ball on 20 occasions, while only dishing out eight assists.

The Bulldogs return home to host Sacred Heart on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Wagner on Monday at 2 p.m.