BULLDOGS BATTLE BACK FROM DEFICIT, FALL AT LAFYATTE, 84-80, IN OVERTIME THRILLER

11/14/10

BULLDOGS BATTLE BACK FROM DEFICIT, FALL AT LAFYATTE, 84-80, IN OVERTIME THRILLER

EASTON, Pa. – Down for nearly all of the second half and with time running out in regulation, the Bryant University women's basketball team stormed back to force overtime but the valiant effort would not be enough to get past Lafayette as the Bulldogs fell, 84-80, Sunday afternoon at the Kirby Sports Center.

The Bulldogs forced overtime when senior Lindsey Hudspeth (Mount Laurel, N.J.) hit a timely three-pointer to give Bryant its first lead of the second half. Bryant turned to the long distance shot in overtime as well, when sophomore Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) drilled a trey with a minute left in the frame but the Leopards matched the Bulldogs' efforts when they took the lead on clutch free throws after their own three-pointer.

Soper had 14 points and 10 rebounds to record the first double-double of the season for Bryant while Hudspeth and sophomore Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) paced the Bulldogs with 16 points each. Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ontario) came off the bench to net 15 points and five boards.

Bryant jumped out to an early six point lead just five minutes into the game, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Soper. Senior Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) did her part down low on both ends of the floor by getting to the line on the offensive end and grabbing rebounds to gain control on the defensive side.

A few minutes later, Lafayette fought back to take the lead after a couple of layups from Melissa Downey, but the Bulldogs answered right back when Ankoma-Mensa converted two layups of her own. Hudspeth then continued the scoring attack with back-to-back treys to give the visitors a 24-21 lead midway through the first half.   

Following a brief run by the Leopards, Douglas kept the Bulldogs in the game when she took a hard charge in the lane and scored on the next possession with an impressive drive to the basket.  

Nevertheless, the Leopards would win the back-and-forth battle after LaKeisha Wright and Alicia Manning each scored in the waning minutes of the half to give the home team a 40-34 advantage at intermission. 

Ankoma-Mensa led the Bulldogs in scoring with eight points in the first half while Wright also chipped in with eight to pace the Leopards. Siamone Bennett was the top rebounder at the midway point with five first half boards.

In the second half, the Bulldogs hung with the Leopards and were ignited by a pair of treys from Steph Cardamone (Freehold, N.J.) and Hudspeth, followed by a layup from Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) after Ankoma-Mensa picked up a timely steal. 

The Bryant bench continued to impress when scoring drives from Ankoma-Mensa and Hudspeth brought the Bulldogs to within a point at the ten minute mark.

After over 38 minutes of game action, the Bulldogs finally regained the lead when Hudspeth drilled a three-pointer, putting her team up by two with nearly a minute left in the contest. 

After the teams swapped baskets, the Leopards scored the equalizer on a driving layup from Downey to send the game into overtime with score knotted up, 72-72.  

In the extra frame, the Bulldogs were the first to score when Ankoma-Mensa gained position under the basket and spun around for the layup. The teams then exchanged three-pointers, with Soper stepping back for a buzzer-beating trey and Manning hitting the same for Lafayette.

With 46 seconds left to play in the frame, Danielle Fiaco gave the Leopards a two point lead on a pair of free throws. A few more clutch free throws from Wright were enough to give the Leopards the 84-80 overtime victory.   

As a team, the Bulldogs shot 40 percent from the field and 62 percent on three-point attempts.

The Bulldogs return to action on Friday, Nov. 19 when they welcome Maine to the Chace Athletic Center for their home opener at 7:00 p.m.