Bulldogs win thriller over Sacred Heart, 60-56

POSTGAME QUOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Junior Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) scored a team-high 11 points as the Bryant University women's basketball team topped the Sacred Heart University Pioneers, 60-56, on Monday night at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield.

GAME INFORMATION

Bryant 60, Sacred Heart 56

Records: Sacred Heart 7-15 (3-8 NEC), Bryant 7-15 (6-5 NEC)
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)

COACH BURKE'S COMMENTS

"I was really happy with the players' performance today," said Bryant head coach Mary Burke. "It was a great performance for both teams at this time of year, jockeying for conference standings and putting ourselves in position with the playoffs in a few weeks. Sacred Heart is always a very good team that always takes everything we have. That was what we needed to do today. I was proud of the way the team did the things that were necessary. They made foul shots, executed half-court sets, got rebounds, and did the things that we necessary to be successful."

KEY MOMENTS

• Sophomore Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W.Va.) hit a jumper in the paint with 6:27 remaining in the game to give Bryant its third lead of the game. Sacred Heart would not tie or take the lead for the remainder of the game.
• With 14 seconds remaining in the game, freshman Hannah Scanlan (Rumson, N.J.) battled for an offensive rebound with the Bulldogs up just two. Scanlan would get fouled in the scuffle and hit the ensuing free throws to secure the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game looked to be a defensive battle in the early goings, as Bryant held Sacred Heart to just eight points in the first quarter and took a 15-8 lead into the first intermission. Senior captain Kathleen Everson (Farmingville, N.Y.) scored the Bulldogs' final four points of the quarter and finished with eight in the game.
• The Pioneers fought back and trailed by just a point heading into halftime, 25-24. Bryant scored just 10 points in the quarter: six by freshman Brooke Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) and four by Everson.
• SHU took a three-point lead with 1:12 remaining in the third quarter, but Palmer hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game heading into the fourth. It was the lone Bulldog 3-pointer of the game.
• Palmer would score six of her team-best 11 points in the final frame and assisted on two other baskets to help the Bulldogs secure the win. The junior sank a pair of free throws with 30 seconds remaining to double the Bulldogs lead from two to four.

STATS

• Palmer was Bryant's lone scorer in double-figures in the game. Three players, redshirt junior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.), Scanlan and Everson each finished with eight. Holloway finished with seven.
• The Maryland native also had a game-high five assists.
• Ashley finished with a game-high three steals and was behind only Palmer, finishing with four assists. She is the conference leader in thefts, averaging three steals per game
• The Bulldogs held SHU's Katherine Haines to just five points and four rebounds. She came into Monday's game with averages of 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant has now won its last three games over Sacred Heart, dating back to last season's Northeast Conference Semifinal game. This is the first time ever that the Bulldogs have won three-straight games over the Pioneers.
• Scanlan had 13 rebounds in Monday's game, a new career best. Her previous best was 12, which she had at Sacred Heart on Jan. 15 and against versus LIU Brooklyn on Jan. 20.
• The win moves Bryant to 6-5 in conference play and tied with Fairleigh Dickinson for third-place in the standings.

UP NEXT

The team heads to New Britain, Connecticut, on Saturday, Feb. 10 for a 1 p.m. meeting with Central Connecticut State University. The game will be nationally broadcasted on ESPN3.