Bulldogs rally to down Colgate 76-74

HAMILTON, N.Y. – Trailing by as many as 20 points at one point, the Bryant University women's basketball team mounted a phenomenal comeback to stun Colgate University, 76-74, in a thrilling season-opening victory on Friday night at Cotterell Court.

Led by a team-high 20-point output from sophomore Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.), the Bulldogs (1-0) did not blink in the face of an early deficit, stringing together runs of 9-0 and 14-0 in the first half before outshooting the Raiders (0-1) by 10 points in the second stanza to make their first matchup of the season a memorable one.  With the win, Bryant snapped a two-year winless streak on opening night, while maintaining its undefeated all-time record against Colgate, which now stands at a perfect 5-0.

After cutting the deficit to eight points at halftime, the Bulldogs wasted no time out of the locker room, scoring four quick points on back-to-back baskets from sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) and Bailey.  But Colgate responded with four points of its own, and two plays later the Bulldogs found themselves in a seven-point hole off the third basket of the half by Jhazmine Lynch.

But thanks to back-to-back treys by Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio), Bryant broke through at the 15-minute mark of the second half, taking its first lead of the game since Bailey's first field goal in the opening seconds, as the junior's second long ball put the visitors up 54-52 at 14:55.

Coming off the bench, sophomore Steph Cardamone (Freehold, N.J.) added to Bryant's key run with a three-ball of her own to extend Bryant's lead to five.  Two minutes later, Ankoma-Mensa drove to the basket for a layup, making it 59-52 in favor of the Bulldogs and marking Bryant's largest lead of the game while capping off a huge 12-0 run.

After getting into foul trouble early in the second frame, Candice Green returned to the game hoping to reignite the Raiders, and did so by nailing her fourth three-ball of the contest to cut Bryant's lead to three.  But Whittington answered right back with a three of her own, putting the Bulldogs up 62-56 with just under 10 minutes remaining.

Both teams exchanged baskets following the ensuing media timeout, with Bryant getting consecutive layups from senior Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.) and junior Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.).  After going back up by seven, both teams combined for three turnovers and three missed shots as the game entered the final four minutes, setting up a dramatic finish.

With less than two minutes to go, Colgate hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to five, but the Bulldogs came right back down the court and answered with a layup from Bailey.  Two plays later, Douglas drilled a pair of free throws to put the visitors back up by seven, but Kelly Korkowski connected from downtown to make it a four-point game with 42 seconds left.

The Raiders hauled down a defensive board off the first shot of a one-and-one, and after driving down the court, Colgate was able to claw to within two off a layup.  Immediately following the in-bounds, the Raiders fouled Douglas, who cooly nailed a pair of free throws to put Bryant back up by four.  But Colgate refused to go quietly, as Missy Repoli hit a three with three seconds left to cut the lead to one. 

With the game potentially on the line, Douglas came to the charity stripe for another pair of chances.  The junior hit the first and missed the second, and with no timeouts left, Colgate was forced to fire a desperation shot that was way off the mark, sealing the comeback win for the Bulldogs.

Despite allowing the host Raiders to shoot 46.2 percent from the field, the Bulldogs came away with 17 steals, including a game-high four takeaways from Ankoma-Mensa and Stahura.  Bryant scored 34 key points off Colgate's 24 turnovers, and garnered 36 points in the paint due in part to the team's 22 offensive boards – that compared to Colgate's six offensive rebounds.

It was a slow start for the Bulldogs, falling behind by as many as 20 points in the first half.  The Raiders controlled the opening 10 minutes with a 12-0 run that brought the home crowd to its feet.  Colgate shot an impressive 8-for-11 in three-pointers in the first half, finishing the game with 11 treys.

The Bulldogs, however, mounted two key runs in the first half to get back in the game, first stringing together a 9-0 run to cut a 20-point Colgate lead in half, and finishing the half on a pivotal 14-0 run that brought the team to within six points before finishing the first half down eight.

Along with Bailey, the Bulldogs saw double-digit games from Douglas (15), Whittington (12) and Cardamone (11).  The latter two combined for all seven of the team's three-pointers, with Whittington hitting four treys and Cardamone draining three.

Bryant held a commanding 43-28 lead in rebounding, while the Raiders led in turnovers (24-22).  The Bulldogs finished the game with a 39.1 percent clip from the field and a 19-of-29 (65.5 percent) free-throw shooting mark.

The Bulldogs return to the Ocean State for their home opener this Tuesday (Nov. 15) night, hosting Iona College for a 7 p.m. non-conference tilt at the Chace Athletic Center.

For continuing coverage of Bryant University women's basketball, check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com, and be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.