Bulldogs beat Blue Devils on Senior Night, solidify No. 4 seed in NEC Tournament

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University women's basketball's 70-64 win over Central Connecticut and Mount St. Mary's loss to St. Francis Brooklyn on Monday night has solidified the Bulldogs as the No. 4 seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament.

After the Blue Devils' (10-19, 9-9 NEC) Taylor Goode hit a three at the halftime horn to put Central up two, 33-31, the Bulldogs (16-13, 11-7) came roaring back in the second half, claiming a 34-33 lead off senior Chanel Ramcharran (Pickering, Ont.) three-pointer, and the Black and Gold never looked back.

Bryant outscored the CCSU, 23-12, in the third quarter, mounting a 9-0 run to start the second half. The Bulldogs went up nine, 51-42, with 12 seconds to play in the third, after sophomore Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) hit her third three of the game. The guard finished the game with a career-high 17 points, while tying her career-best five made threes.

In the fourth, the Blue Devils closed the gap two on four occasions. Kianna Patterson's jumper with 2:30 to play narrowed Bryant's lead to two, but freshman Masey Zegarowski (Hamilton, Mass.) responded with one from deep to push the amrgin to five, 67-62. Down the stretch, senior Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) converted 3-of-4 from the chalk, helping the Bulldogs to the 70-64 win on Senior Night and lock in the No. 4 need in the conference tourney. The Bulldogs' victory marks their sixth-straight, marking their longest win streak of the season.

Senior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) led the Bulldogs with 23 points, totaling her seventh 20+ point game of the season. The forward went 10-for-15 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line. Connors had 17 on the night, connecting on 6-of-10 from the floor. Off the bench, Cebria Outlow led the Blue Devils with 17 points, while Kiana Patterson finished with 15 off a 5-for-11 mark from the floor and 3-for-7 shooting from behind the arc.

Junior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) helped the Black and Gold to a 39-36 edge on the glass, ripping down a career-high 12 boards, including four on the offensive glass. Klein garnered eight rebounds, while Olander managed five. The Bulldogs managed a season-low 13 turnovers to the Blue Devils' 14, scoring 19 points of the visitors' giveaways.

Bryant outshot CCSU from the floor (43.3-40.7 percent) and from three (35.0-25.0 percent), while the Blue Devils went 12-for-17 from the line and the Bulldogs 11-for-17.

In the first quarter, the Blue Devils had the early momentum, finding a 10-4 edge after posting an 8-0 run over the course of three and a half minutes. Klein, Connors and sophomore Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) pitched in buckets to pull Bryant within four, 14-10, at the end of the opening period.

The second saw a lot of back-and-forth play, as CCSU's game-high eight-point lead was whittled down to one, 20-19, at the 6:38 mark, following Connors' first triple of the game. Klein's jumper with 4:51 to play in the first half tied the contest, 23-23, before Connors stroked another one from deep to give Bryant its first lead of the game, 26-25, since early in the first quarter. The remainder of the quarter saw five lead changes and two ties, before Goode's three gave the Blue Devils the 33-31 advantage at the break.

Bryant reclaimed the lead out of the gate in the second half and managed it for the remainder 20 minutes, topping the Blue Devils, 70-64, en route to the No. 4 seed in the conference playoffs.

The Bulldogs now gear up for their NEC Quarterfinal game, when they host Mount St. Mary's on Sunday at 1 p.m.