Women drop 75-62 decision to Central

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball dropped a 75-62 decision against Central Connecticut on Monday afternoon, as the Bulldogs fell for the first time in back-to-back games in 2011-12 at the Chace Athletic Center.

Trailing by four at the half, Bryant (11-8, 4-4 Northeast Conference) managed to tie the game with 15:33 to play in regulation. But from that point on, the Blue Devils (9-10, 3-5 NEC) outscored the home side by a 32-19 margin to close out the contest.

Bryant allowed the visitors to shoot a season-high 54.9 percent from the field on 28-of-51 shooting, highlighted by a 28-point outing from Jaclyn Babe, who finished the day 9-of-17 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Two other Blue Devils recorded double-digit scoring, as Bailey Brooke (18) and Kaley Watras (11) led the way for Central.

On the home side, three players finished the afternoon within a point of one another with sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) dropping a team-high 17 points, just ahead of juniors Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) and Katie Whittington's (Twinsburg, Ohio) 16 points apiece. Anoma-Mensa mustered a game-high 10 boards while registering Bryant's lone rejection of the day.

The home side shot 37.5 percent from the field on a 24-for-64 clip, but Bryant struggled at the charity stripe to the tune of a 55.6 percent conversion rate (10-of-18). Central was much more fortuitous at the stripe, nailing 17-of-24 of its free throws for a 70.8 percent success rate.

Down by four at the break, the Bulldogs pulled even at 43-43 at the 15:33 mark of the second half, but Central responded by reeling off 13 straight points over the ensuing seven minutes to take a 56-43 lead with 7:53 to play in regulation. From that point on, the Blue Devils staved off a feisty Bryant attack by going basket-for-basket with the home team, and eventually prevailed down the stretch.

To open the game, CCSU reeled off 11 straight points to take a 23-12 with 9:13 to play in the half. Babe was responsible for seven of those points, including one long range shot, as the Blue Devils did most of their damage in the frame over a span of 2:44, prompting a Bryant timeout.

After falling behind by 15 points with 4:10 to play in the half, the Bulldogs embarked on a furious rally that saw them outscore the Blue Devils by a 13-2 margin over a span of 3:05 to end the stanza down by just four points, as Central took a 37-33 lead into the locker room.

Bryant had no answers for Babe in the first half, as the Blue Devils' leading scorer nearly matched all of Bryant's offensive output by herself at one point while finishing the frame with 17 points. Douglas finished the half with a team-high nine points, while Ankoma-Mensa gathered eight boards to lead all players.

Bryant continues its season-long four-game homestand next weekend against a pair of Garden State foes.  The Black and Gold will first welcome Monmouth on Saturday (Jan. 28) for an afternoon tilt slated for 1 p.m., and the Bulldogs will wrap up the weekend against Fairleigh Dickinson next Monday (Jan. 31) at 7 p.m.

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