Bulldogs outlast Black Bears, 65-53

BULLDOGS OUTLAST BLACK BEARS

ORONO, Maine - The Bryant University women's basketball team took a 14-point lead into the locker room, and held on in the second half to down the University of Maine, 65-53, on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gym.

Two different sophomores recorded new career highs, as Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) and Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) recorded 20 and 17 points, respectively, to lead the Bulldogs (2-1) over the Black Bears (1-2) for the first time ever.

Joining the stellar sophomores in double-digit scoring was Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.), who was unstoppable along with Ankoma-Mensa in the first half.  The junior guard was two points shy of her own career-high scoring mark, finishing the afternoon with 17 points, five assists, one steal and one block over 37 minutes.

Classmate Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) completed the trifecta of career-setting performers, totaling six steals on the game to match a previous personal best in takeaways.  The Massachusetts native also gathered a game-high 11 boards.

After Maine's Ashleigh Roberts hit a three and nailed a pair of free throws to start things off, the Bulldogs went on an 11-0 run to jump out in front in the opening 10 minutes of regulation.

Maine answered that scoring stretch with a basket by Samantha Baranowski, but the Bulldogs wrestled the momentum right back in their favor, as a steal and a rebound by senior Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.) sprung Ankoma-Mensa ahead for another layup to answer Maine's two points.

Moments later, the Ontario native stormed down the court and pushed through a foul for another basket, and promptly nailed the and-one to push the lead to 15-7.

In the last 10 minutes of the first half, the Bulldogs scored 35 of the final 54 points, sapping the home court advantage en route to taking a 40-26 lead at halftime.  Junior Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) added a three pointer and nailed a pair of free throws to finish with five points, and Schissler tacked in six points late in the half to cap the first stanza.

Douglas led all scorers in the first half with 15 points, closely followed by Ankoma-Mensa's 12 points.

After the break, Maine's Brittany Williams reeled off three straight points by capitalizing on a Bulldog turnover to give the home crowd reason to cheer, but Ankoma-Mensa tacked on Bryant's first four points of the second half to quiet the Black Bears.

Following some aggressiveness by both teams that brought the foul counts up, Schissler took over for the Bulldogs with just over 10 minutes left to play.  The sophomore wound up scoring 12 of the team's final 14 points in an incredible individual effort in one of her finest games with the Black and Gold.

Maine clawed to within 13 points with nine minutes left, but the Bulldogs aggressiveness led to another Maine turnover, prompting a fast-break chance for Douglas.  The Maryland native picked up the loose ball and drove hard to the point, putting the layup home while drawing a foul.  She made the and-one to cap the scoring play.

With seven minutes left, Schissler pulled up for a three-pointer and made the basket to put Bryant up by a game-high 18 points.  The Branford, Conn., native finished the game with an incredible 7-of-10 clip from the field along with four rebounds and two steals.

Maine finished by scoring 13 of the game's final 18 points, but by that point it was far too late, as the Bulldogs walked off with the 12-point victory.

Bryant finished the game shooting a season-high 40.7 percent from the field (24-for-59), marking the first time this season that Bryant has shot 40 percent or better.  Both squads were even with 36 rebounds, while the Bulldogs committed fewer turnovers (17) than Maine (24).  The Bulldogs also finished with 15 steals over just five for the Black Bears.

Up next, Bryant welcomes nearby rival Brown on Tuesday night for a pre-Thanksgiving tilt at the Chace Athletic Center.  Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.

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.