WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FALLS AT INTRASTATE RIVAL BROWN, 57-49, TUESDAY NIGHT

Nov. 23, 2010

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS AT INTRASTATE RIVAL BROWN, 57-49, TUESDAY NIGHT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sophomore Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) recorded her second double-double of the season (10 points, 10 rebounds) and senior Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) added 13 points but the Bryant University women's basketball team could not climb back from a slow start as the Bulldogs fell to Brown, 57-49, Tuesday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center.   

Bennet also chipped in with nine boards in the contest as the Bulldogs drop to 0-4 overall. The Bears (2-2) had four players score in double-digits while Lauren Clarke led all scorers with 15 points.  

After a slow start that saw the Bulldogs down 10-4 early, sophomores Soper and Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) kept the Bulldogs in the game with a combined ten points in the opening ten minutes. The duo managed to cut through the defense for short looks and hit the open shots to cut the Brown lead to within a basket.

The Bears then padded their slim lead with help from the long distance shot, making three straight from beyond the arc, all from different players.

Once again, however, the Bulldogs rallied to catch up with the Bears, starting with a breakaway lay-up from Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) after she picked up a loose ball at half court. The play was followed shortly by a score from Lindsey Hudspeth (Mount Laurel, N.J.), who maneuvered her way through a pair of Bear defenders and pulled up for the quick shot.

While the home squad looked to the long ball, the Bulldogs remained consistent with short jumpers and eventually looked down low to Bennett, who put her team to within three after drawing the foul on a post move and converting the free shot.

Brown was able to pull away in the final stretch of the first half, however, thanks to back-to-back baskets by Sheila Dixon to give the home squad a 35-25 advantage at intermission.

Bennett paced the Bulldogs with seven first half points and five rebounds while Soper and Douglas contributed with six points apiece. The Bears were led by Lindsay Nickel and Dixon as each netted eight in the opening stanza.

Bryant came out of halftime with two quick baskets from a couple of rookies as Caitlyn Bassett (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Mary Tierney (Rochester, N.Y.) worked their way for position under the basket to pick up the first points of their respective careers.  

Nevertheless, the Bears picked up right where they left off in the first half when Hannah Passafuime answered with a trey, the team's sixth of the contest.  

Trailing by ten with 12 minutes left on the game, the Bulldogs slowly climbed back into the game as an impressive fade-away jumper from Soper highlighted a 9-4 run to put the visitors down by three with just over five minutes to play.

From there, the Bears regained the momentum with a Nickel 3-pointer and went on to hold a consistent lead for the eventual victory.   

The Black and Gold return to the court on Sunday, Nov. 28 when they play host to another Ivy Leaguer, Dartmouth, at 1 p.m.