WBB knocks off preseason NEC favorite

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Tied at 49 points apiece with less than three minutes to play, the Bryant University women's basketball team caught fire and ran away from the preseason Northeast Conference favorite Saint Francis University, earning a 57-52 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

Down by six points after the intermission, the Bulldogs (9-5, 2-1 Northeast Conference) outscored the two-time defending conference champion Red Flash (5-9, 2-1 NEC) by a 35-24 margin, handing SFU its first conference loss of the season while moving an unprecedented four games above .500 for the first time in the program's Division I history.

Bulldog sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) was marvelous for the Black and Gold, registering a team-high nine points in the second half while finishing the afternoon with 17 points – three off her career high - and a personal-best six steals, while junior Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) contributed 12 points to lead the home team.

Despite shooting 1-of-15 from downtown (6.7 percent), Bryant finished the day with a respectable 37.0 field-goal percentage on a 20-of-54 shooting clip, while SFU went 18-of-57 from the field for a 31.6 percent mark.

The Bulldogs closed out the game on a 10-3 run over the final 2:42 minutes of regulation, with Ankoma-Mensa breaking the tie off a fastbreak layup.  SFU marched down the floor looking to take the lead but missed a trey with 1:20 remaining, putting Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) at the line for a pair of free throws.  The junior nailed both to push the lead up to four, but the Red Flash did not go quietly.

After another SFU turnover, Bryant was in position to ice the game with a minute to go, but Allison Smith forced a steal that led to a three-pointer by Sarah Thorn, cutting the Bulldogs' lead to just one point. 

Junior guard Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) went to the line for the two biggest free throws of the afternoon and made both to push the lead back to three.  On the other end, the Red Flash had a chance to tie, but the visitor's final three-pointer of the afternoon was off the mark, and Douglas capped the game off with two more free throws to wrap up the win.

The Bulldogs finished the afternoon with a 42-37 edge in rebounding, and collected 17 steals off of 23 turnovers by the Red Flash.

Bryant raced off to an 8-0 lead in the first half – its largest lead of the game – but SFU stormed back to take a game-high nine-point lead with 6:46 to play.  Bryant went on a 10-2 run to draw within one with 1:20 to go in the stanza, but the Red Flash registered six unanswered points to close out the half with a 28-22 lead.

Next up for the Black and Gold is a Monday evening tilt against Robert Morris, who was ranked second by the league in the preseason coaches' poll.  Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center.

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