Bulldogs hold on in 53-49 win over Terriers

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Sophomore Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and six steals while freshman Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) added 11 points to lead the Bryant University women's basketball team past St. Francis (NY), 53-49, in Northeast Conference play Saturday afternoon at the Pope Physical Education Center.  

The Terriers chipped away at the lead late in the contest as a pair of driving scores from Jasmine Robinson pulled the home side within two with two seconds left in regulation, but Danielle Douglas (Silver Spring, Md.) iced a couple of clutch free throws to secure the Bryant victory.  

Douglas was the other double-figure scorer for the Bulldogs as the Maryland native netted 10 points and seven assists while Autumn Lau and Ashley Wilcots paced the Terriers with 13 and 11, respectively.   

As a team, Bryant (9-19, 6-11 NEC) shot at a 39.6 percent clip and outrebounded St. Francis (2-26, 0-17 NEC) by a margin of 39-24.  

Bryant set the tone early with an opening 3-pointer from Soper to kick off a 9-3 as the visitors before a layup from  Wilcots halted the stretch and trimmed the Bulldog led to 9-5 at the 15:35 mark. The basket started an 8-1 run by the home side, including three scores from Wilcots down low, pushing the Terriers on top, 11-10, with 13:32 remaining.

The Bulldogs took back the lead with an 8-0 run, capped by a lay-in underneath by Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ontario) for the 18-11 lead with 8:10 left to play. After Soper added to the stretch with a pair of free throws, Robinson ended the six minute scoring drought with a conventional 3-point play to pull the home squad within six with 5:37 remaining. Bryant was unable to make a field goal during the final five minutes of the half as a late 3-pointer from Autumn Lau tied up the score, 22-22, at intermission.

While the Bulldogs had trouble finding the basket at the end of the first half, the second stanza was a different story as the visitors went on a 13-2 run in the opening five minutes, highlighted by three post scores from Ankoma-Mensa and a 3-pointer from Soper for the 35-24 advantage.

The Terriers hung around over the course of the half until a 9-0 brought the home team within five, 42-37, with just under eight minutes left in regulation. St. Francis continued to chip away, trimming the lead to three on a trey from Amber Lau, but Soper answered with a driving layup on the next possession as Bryant held on to claim the 53-49 victory.

The Black and Gold will play their season finale on Monday, Feb. 28 when the team visits Long Island in a 7:00 p.m. matchup.