Bryant downs Sacred Heart in OT thriller, 74-71

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Mia Mancini and Mariona Planes Fortuny each posted 20-point efforts but it was Martina Boba's steal and finish that pushed the Bryant University women's basketball team past Sacred Heart, 74-71, in an overtime thriller at the Chace Athletic Center on Saturday.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 4-5 overall and are now 3-1 at home this season. 

Mancini finished with a career-high 28 points on 7-of-12 shooting from three, while Fortuny posted her second-straight double-double with 25 points and 10 boards. Silvia Gonzalez chipped in 12 points off the bench, while Boba finished with five points, five rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 40 minutes. 

Bryant's overtime victory spoiled a triple-double by Sacred Heart phenom Ny'Ceara Pryor. The guard finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Game Information
Bryant 74, Sacred Heart 71
Records: Bryant (4-5) | Sacred Heart (4-5)
Location:  Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)

Key Moment

• With 2:06 left in overtime, Boba read the pass and intercepted the ball at the top of the key. She sprinted down the floor and laid it home to give Bryant a 72-71 lead. 

How it Happened

• Two days after being held without a field goal against Brown, Mancini opened the scoring with a triple on Saturday afternoon. It would be the first of five first-half three-point field goals for the sizzling rookie. 
• Martinez added her only three of the afternoon at the 4:39 mark to give the Black and Gold a 12-8 advantage. 
• The Pioneers would take their first lead with a triple but Fortuny gave Bryant a 14-13 edge after 10 minutes with a finish inside. 
• SHU took the lead again in the second quarter as Sajada Bonner sank a three to cap a 7-0 run and make it 20-16. 
• Mancini would shoot the Bulldogs back into it, hitting a triple from the top before swishing a three from the wing, tying the game at 24-24.
• Mancini would connect again, answering a Bonner three with one of her own, to make it 29-27.
• The freshman phenom capped her scorching first half with another trifecta to give Bryant a six-point edge, 35-29.
• Fortuny gave Bryant it's largest lead of the afternoon with two quick buckets to start the third quarter, pushing the Bulldogs ahead by eight. 
• Fortuny, however, picked up her third foul at the 6:51 mark and had to sit. The Pioneers then ripped off a 7-0 run to regain a 42-41 lead with 5:16 left.
• Bryant would take a 45-44 lead to the fourth quarter after Martinez finished inside and Fortuny canned two free throws.
• Amelia Wood tried to shoot the Pioneers ahead, hitting a pair of threes to give SHU a 52-49 edge.
• Fortuny had an answer, completing a conventional three-point play to tie the game with 6:47 left.
• Mancini then chose the perfect time to hit her only two threes of the second half. She swished a triple following an offensive rebound to tie the game at 57, then hit an off-balance three from the corner in front the Bryant bench, tying the game at 62-62 with 1:42 left.
• Mancini would then use her skills inside, getting the role and the foul to complete a three-point play and give Bryant a 65-63 lead with 1:09 left.
• Bryant would hit 1-of-2 from the line to take a 66-65 lead but the Pioneers grabbed it back on the other end, scoring with 18 seconds left.
• Fortuny would then make 1-of-2 on Bryant's next possession and SHU missed a shot to send the game to overtime.
• Bonner's fifth three of the afternoon gave Sacred Heart a 71-69 lead at the 2:50 mark.
• After Fortuny hit 1-of-2 from the line, Boba went to work. She sniffed out the pass at the top of the key and raced to the rack to give Bryant a lead it would not relinquish. 
• Boba would get the subsequent defensive rebound on a SHU miss and can 1-of-2 from the line. Another made free throw by Boba accounted for the final score as SHU missed a trio of three-point attempts in the final minute.

Stats

• Bryant shot 45 percent from the field and had 14 assists on 24 made baskets. The Bulldogs also made 18-of-25 free throws.
• Fortuny posted a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. She was 7-of-14 from the field and 11-of-13 from the line. Fortuny also added five assists.
• Mancini finished with 28, going 10-of-16 from the field and 7-of-12 from three. 
• Gonzalez came off the bench to post 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting. She also had six rebounds.
• Boba played 40 minutes and finished with five points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and zero turnovers.
• Sacred Heart's Ny'Ceara Pryor posted a triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Notes

• Bryant has now won three-straight against the Pioneers for the first time in the series history. 
• The Black and Gold improve to 3-1 at home this season. 
• Fortuny recorded her 15^th career 20+ point game and seventh double-double of her career.
• Fortuny's 25 points were a season high.
• Fortuny also set career highs in free throws made (11) and attempted (13), and tied her career high with five assists.
• Mancini posted a career-high 28 points. It marked her third 20-point game of the season. 
• Mancini was 2-of-13 from three her last two games before going 7-of-12 on Saturday.
• Mancini becomes the first Bulldog to hit as many as seven three-point field goals in a game since Haley Connors made eight at Saint Francis U on Feb. 11, 2019.
• Mancini's seven three-point field goals are also the most by a freshman in DI program history. 
• Kemari Reynolds hauled in a season-high seven boards.

Next Up
Bryant hits the road next Wednesday when it travels to Baltimore to face Loyola (Md.). Tip is set for 11:00 a.m. on December 6.