Where's the broom?

Bulldogs complete season sweep over NEC foe Long Island with 65-56 victory in season finale

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Senior Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) netted a game-high 16 points and sophomore Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) grabbed a contest-high 12 boards as the Bryant University women's basketball team downed Long Island, 65-56, Monday night at the Wellness Center in the final game of the 2010-11 season.

With a three point lead and 1:10 remaining in the contest, freshman Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) took the ball at the top of the key and drove hard to the basket to give the Bulldogs a strong five-point advantage. Sophomore Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) took care of the rest, icing six clutch free throws en route to the upset victory.  

Bryant (10-19, 7-11 NEC) knocked off Long Island (19-10, 11-7 NEC) earlier this season, 45-44, at the Chace Athletic Center, setting up Monday's series-sweeping victory over the NEC preseason favorite Blackbirds, who entered the contest tied for third place in the conference.   

Bennett added nine rebounds and a pair of blocks to her 16 points while Bailey and Whittington rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 and 11, respectively. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 48.8 percent from the floor including 57.9 percent on 11-for-19 shooting in the second half.

Long Island was led offensively by Kiara Evans with 11 points while Heidi Mothershead and Ashley Palmer added 10 points apiece.

The two squads were even on the scoreboard in the opening 3:26, with Bennett netting a pair of baskets for the Bulldogs, but the Blackbirds rattled off a 7-0 run as a Mothershead 3-pointer pushed her team on top, 10-4, at the 15:52 mark.

Taking advantage of several Long Island turnovers, the Bulldogs answered right back with a 10-0 run, highlighted by a pair of driving layups by Bailey to put the visitors on top by four, 14-10, with 11 minutes remaining. The home side managed to eventually tie up the contest on another 3-pointer by Mothershead but it would not last long as Danielle Douglas (Silver Spring, MD.) drilled a trey of her own on the next possession for the three-point lead with eight minutes to play. Despite another Mothershead three, the Bulldogs ended the stanza with a 10-4 run, including a stretch of seven unanswered points for the 31-23 halftime advantage.       

Bennett paced the Bulldogs with 12 points and five rebounds in the opening 20 minutes while the team hit a total of nine free throws.

Bryant kicked off the second half with a 6-2 run to increase its lead to 12 but Long Island responded with a 13-1 run to pull even with the Bulldogs, 38-38, at the 15:14 mark. After the Bulldogs regained the slim lead, the home side continued to attack and trimmed the lead to one, but five quick points by Whittington and a Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ontario) layup gave the visitors a 48-40 advantage with 8:40 remaining.

Turning to the full press, the Blackbirds cut the lead to three on a free throw by Palmer but Bennett, scoring her first points of the half, recorded back-to-back buckets for the 54-47 advantage with under four minutes to play. Long Island pulled to within three on two occasions during the final four minutes but a driving layup from Bailey and the clutch free throw shooting by Whittington secured the 65-56 victory.