Hoops looks to sweep Blackbirds

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Fresh off a win over St. Francis (NY) on Saturday, the Bryant University women's basketball team remains in Brooklyn for its season finale as the Bulldogs look for the season sweep over Long Island on Monday, Feb. 28 in a 7:00 p.m. matchup. Fans can follow the contest through live stats by logging on to www.liuathletics.com.

THE SERIES
Monday's game will be the fourth meeting all-time between Bryant and Long Island as the Blackbirds hold a 2-1 edge in the series. The Bulldogs picked up the lone victory on Jan. 10, 2011 when Brittany Stahura hit a pair of late free throws to secure the upset win over the NEC preseason favorite. Long Island captured the first two games of the series last season, winning at home, 73-54, and then again at the Chace Athletic Center, 84-76, in the final game of the regular season.      

PREVIOUSLY, IN THE NEC
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Sophomore Meredith Soper  recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and six steals while freshman Courtney Schissler 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 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.  

SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
Long Island is 19-8 on the season and 11-5 in the conference after seven straight wins, including a 65-61 victory over Mount St. Mary's Monday night. Ashley Palmer led the attack with 17 points while Kiara Evans chipped in with 13 and five assists. As a team, the Blackbirds are averaging 61.9 points per game and allowing 57.7 ppg. Palmer leads the club in scoring with 15.3 points per game while Evans and Chelsi Johnson add 11.0 and 10.3 ppg, respectively. Palmer is also the best rebounder on the club with 8.6 boards per contest.    

LAST TIME AGAINST LONG ISLAND
Down by one point with five seconds left in the game, junior Brittany Stahura stepped up to the charity stripe and drilled a pair of free throws to give the Bryant University women's basketball team the late lead and eventual victory as the Bulldogs downed Long Island, 45-44, Monday, Jan. 10 at the Chace Athletic Center.      

The late-game heroics by Stahura were set up on the previous Bryant (5-10, 2-2 NEC) possession when sophomore Katie Whittington hit a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left on the clock to pull the Bulldogs within one, 44-43. Following Stahura's free throws, Kiara Evans made a driving run to the basket in the final seconds of the contest but her layup rimmed out, allowing the Bulldogs to pick up their second-straight conference victory.    

Stahura's clutch free shots capped off a big day for the junior, who matched a career-high with 15 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. Senior Siamone Bennett also recorded double-figures with 10 points and seven boards while freshman Naana Ankoma-Mensa added eight rebounds.