WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FALLS TO MONMOUTH, 62-42, IN NEC ACTION SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore Danielle Douglas (Silver Spring, Md.) scored a team-high 12 points but the Bryant University women's basketball team could not erase an early Monmouth advantage as the Bulldogs fell, 62-42, Saturday afternoon in Northeast Conference action at the Chace Athletic Center.   

Monmouth (13-5, 5-2 NEC) was led offensively by Gabby Singer's 14 points and Alysha Womack's 12 tallies as an early 15-0 run in the opening half was enough to give the visitors the eventual victory. With the loss, Bryant dipped to 5-13 overall and 2-5 in conference play.

Senior Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds for the home side. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 29 percent from the floor while the Hawks shot 38 percent from the field including eight 3-pointers.       

The teams swapped slim leads during the opening six minutes until a layup from Alexis Canady started a 15-0 run for the Hawks to give the visitors a 22-7 advantage with just under ten minutes to play in the half. Douglas ended Bryant's scoring drought at the 7:42 mark with a 3-pointer from the corner, followed shortly with a close jumper, trimming the Monmouth lead down to nine, 21-12.

From there, the Bulldogs managed to clamp down on the defensive side, highlighted by a devastating block by Bennett to send Adriana Allen's shot out of bounds and keep Monmouth's lead at nine with 3:16 remaining in the stanza. The Hawks rebounded with a 6-2 run during the final three minutes of the half to head into the locker rooms on top, 30-17.

Douglas paced the Bulldogs with nine points in the opening half while Carly Thibault also added nine for the visitors. As a team, the Black and Gold shot 24 percent from the floor while the Hawks shot at a 41 percent clip including six 3-pointers.

The Hawks opened the second half with a 7-2 run over the first 3:20 of action until sophomore Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) tipped in a shot after a series of Bryant offensive rebounds to bring Monmouth's lead down to 37-21. The visitors answered right back on the next possession with a trey from Womack for the 19-point advantage.

At the 13:00 mark, sophomore Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) drilled a shot from beyond the arc to start a 7-0 run for the home side.  Freshman Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) capped off the run with a conventional 3-point play after she was fouled on a drive to the basket, cutting the Hawk lead down to 11, 42-31, at the midway point of the half. Despite the late push, the Bulldogs could not cut down the lead to more than 11 points as the Hawks went on to win, 62-42.

The Black and Gold return to NEC action on Monday, Jan. 24 when they play host to Fairleigh Dickinson at 7:00 p.m.