Pioneers pull away late against Bryant

FAIRFIELD, Conn.  – Despite holding an eight-point lead in the first half, the Bryant University women's basketball team could not hold on against first-place Sacred Heart, falling, 79-64, on Saturday afternoon at the Pitt Center.

The Bulldogs (13-11, 6-7 Northeast Conference) managed to erase an early 10-point deficit and held a 33-25 lead with 30 seconds to play in the first half, but the Pioneers (18-6, 11-2) NEC nearly doubled up the visitors in the second half to retain their lead in the conference and take the first leg of a home-and-home series that will conclude next week.

Both teams stormed out of the gate to start the second frame, but after both teams were even at 49-49 with 12:47 to play, the Pioneers would outscore Bryant by a 30-15 margin through the remainder of the game.

Gabriell Washington was instrumental for the home side, finishing the game with a team-leading 21 points while going 10-of-10 from the free throw line, as 17 of her points came in the second half alone. Preseason All-NEC selection Callan Taylor was held to just four points, but did haul down eight rebounds to lead the Pioneers.

Three other Sacred Heart players finished with double digits, as Ericka Newman ranked second on the squad with 17 points while handing out a game-high eight helpers. Blair Koniszewski was sharp from the field, attempting all of her shots from long range and converting 5-of-10 to finish with 15 points. Morgan Merriman finished with 12 points after scoring just two in the first half.

Junior guard Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) led the Bulldogs in scoring for the second straight game, as the Ohio native thrived from behind the arc on Saturday, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-7 from long range.

Senior Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.) added 12 points and six rebounds while going 5-for-7 from the field, one ahead of sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa's (Brampton, Ont.) 11 point-, seven-rebound outing. Earning her second start of the season, sophomore Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) rounded out the group of double-digit scorers with 10 points.

The Bulldogs were dominated down low by a strong Sacred Heart team that outscored the visitors, 28-10, in the paint. Turnovers were also costly for the visitors, who nearly doubled up SHU in turnovers by a 22-12 margin in giveaways. The Pioneers racked up four rejections and 13 steals compared to zero blocks and just four takeaways for the Bulldogs.

Both teams shot above 40 percent on the game, as the Bulldogs managed a 22-of-53 (.415) clip while going a season-high 9-for-15 (.600) from long range. Sacred Heart, meanwhile, went 27-of-65 from the field (.415) and 7-of-23 from long range (.304). The free throw line paid dividends for the home team, however, as the Pioneers were nearly perfect at the line, going 18-for-20 (.900) compared to 11-for-18 (.611) for the Bulldogs.

Boosted by three straight threes from Koniszewski, the Pioneers took an early 10-point lead (18-8) at the 11:29 mark of the half. Bryant struggled to hang onto the ball with nine turnovers in the first 10 minutes of play compared to just two for Sacred Heart.

But the Bulldogs stormed right back, reeling off 10 straight points over a span of 5:24 - capped by a three in the right corner from Soper - to tie the game at 18-18 with 6:01 left in the half. After falling behind, 20-18, Stahura took over with six straight points to push the visitors to a 24-20 lead with 3:30 remaining in the first.

After the Pioneers trimmed the lead to one, the Bulldogs caught fire from the outside, as Schissler and Whittington nailed back-to-back treys to take a 33-25 lead with 32 seconds to go in the frame. Norman missed her last-second three-pointer to end the half, but was fouled in the act of shooting, prompting a set of three free throws to close out the half. She nailed all three to cut Bryant's lead to 33-28 at the break.

The Bulldogs began the game cold from the field, but their accuracy improved as the half wore on en route to an 11-for-26 clip (.423) from the field while going 4-for-7 (.571) from downtown. SHU's trend was quite the opposite, as the Pioneers started hot from long range but finished the half just 4-for-16 from the outside (.250) and 9-for-32 (.281) from the field. The home team was flawless at the free throw line, going 6-for-6, while the Bulldogs converted only 7-of-13 (.538) from the stripe.

The action intensified to start the second half, as both squads reeled off basket after basket in the opening 10 minutes of the frame. Whittington and senior Kaitlyn Hinck (Bow, N.H.) propelled a nine-point surge for the Bulldogs with three straight treys – including two for Whittington – but Morgan Merriman was unstoppable in the paint with 10 points in as many minutes.

From the 12:47 mark of the second frame, however, Sacred Heart took control by means of a 17-2 run that would push its lead to an insurmountable 15 points (66-51) with 6:19 to play. The Bulldogs managed to clip their deficit down to 11 on a three-pointer from junior Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass), but that would be the closet they would come.

The Bulldogs will see a familiar foe in four days when Sacred Heart completes the second leg of the New England Knockout home-and-home series by traveling to the Chace Athletic Center on Wednesday (Feb. 15) for a 7 p.m. showdown in Smithfield.

After that, the Bulldogs make their longest road trip of the season, traveling to Saint Francis (PA) and Robert Morris next weekend for a pair of contests in the Keystone State.

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