Murphy's Career-High 24 Leads Bryant to Sixth Straight Win 78-65 over Franklin Pierce
BRYANT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
February 6, 2007
Murphy's Career-High 24 Leads Bryant to Sixth Straight Win 78-65 over Franklin Pierce
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Behind career highs from senior captain Erin Murphy (Albany, NY) and freshman Courtney Schermerhorn (Lowell, Mass), the Bryant women's basketball team overcame a 38-33 halftime deficit to defeat Franklin Pierce 78-65 for their sixth straight victory Tuesday night at the Chace Center.
With the victory, the Bulldogs move ahead of the Ravens in the Northeast-10 standings.
Murphy posted 18 points in the second half to go along with a career-high 24 in the game in 34 minutes. She also was 12-of-15 from the line and 8-of-9 in the second half. Schermerhorn added 11 points and played the entire second half.
Bryant started slowly, shooting just 1-for-17 from the field to start the game.
They fought back to tie it at 33 with the half winding down, when Schermerhorn drained a three, but surrendered five late points and entered the locker room trailing by five.
A Schermerhorn lay-in with 14 minutes to play gave the Bulldogs their first lead, 47-46 and they would not trail again.
They started the second half on a 29-14 run to take the lead and surged ahead with an 11-1 run that ended with Murphy feeding Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) to put the Bulldogs up 65-52.
O'Keefe finished with 18 points and seven boards while Joanna Skiba (Providence, RI) added 12 in 25 minutes off the bench.
The Bulldogs limited freshman sensation Johannah Leedham to 14 points, all of them in the second half. Her sister, Jennifer, led the Ravens with 18, including four three-pointers.
Bryant also pulled down 19 offensive rebounds, four of them by Murphy and another four by Cara Johnson (Endicott, NY).
The Bulldogs (16-7, 12-6 NE-10) have four regular season games remaining, including three straight on the road. They will take on 15th ranked AIC Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Springfield, Mass.