Women's Basketball Season Ends with 78-73 to Saint Rose in NE-10 Quarters
BRYANT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
February 27, 2007
Bryant Women Basketball Loses to Saint Rose 78-73 in NE-10 Quarterfinals
ALBANY, N.Y. - The Bryant women's basketball team saw its season come to an end Tuesday night at the hands of second-ranked Saint Rose College 78-73 in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinals.
The Golden Knights will advance to the semifinals and play No. 6 Pace Friday night in New Haven, CT.
Trailing 69-57 with four minutes to play, Bryant crept back into it behind three straight field goals, two from Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) and one from Lynne-Ann Kokoski (Hatsfield, Mass.).
Kokoski then nailed two free throws to cut the lead to three with 39.5 to play, and Emily Gottstein made one of two free throws on the other end, extending the lead to four, before Joanna Skiba (Providence, RI) drove to the lane and quickly cut the lead back to two at 74-72. But Courtney Ludwig countered on the other end with two more free throws to put the game away for the Golden Knights.
The comeback fell short however as Mary Lewis led the Golden Knights to the quarterfinal victory behind a team-high 23 points.
Bryant struggled at the free-throw line converting just 12-of-24, while Saint Rose nailed 23-of-27.
O'Keefe finished with a team-high 24, two short of her career high, while Courtney Schermerhorn (Lowell, Mass.) matched her career high with 11, including three from behind the arc.
The Golden Knights came out flying in the second half, going on a 9-0 run, to put out to a 45-33 lead with 17:55 to play in the game. Using a lineup that included Kristin Mraz (Johnstown, NY) and Cara Johnson (Endicott, NY), Bryant countered with an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to cut the gap to 48-44. Erin Murphy (Albany, NY) capped off the run with a lay-in to bring the Bulldogs right back in the contest.
The Bulldogs found themselves in foul trouble early in the second half, committing nine fouls in the first nine minutes. They turned the ball over 23 times, including six from Skiba.
In her final game at Bryant, Skiba posted eight points and finishes her career fifth on the all-time Bryant scoring list.
Bryant started quickly, taking a 20-9 lead at the 10:34 mark of the first half behind ten early points from O'Keefe. But Lewis countered with seven straight of her own, and the Golden Knights took off a 23-6 run and took the 32-26 lead with 3:52 to go in the half.
O'Keefe posted 13 first-half points, while Lewis also totaled 13 while grabbing four steals. Emily Gottstein nearly posted a double-double in the first half (10 points, nine boards). But Bryant trailed only by three, 36-33, despite committing 16 first-half turnovers.
This was the final game for four Bulldog seniors: Jess Cegarra (Danville, NH), Lauren Rubenoff (New Hartford, CT), Skiba and Murphy.
Bryant, who was picked to finish 11th in the Northeast-10 Conference in the preseason, finishes the 2006-07 season in seventh place with an overall record of 19-10 and 14-8 in the NE-10.
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