SHU too much for Ankoma-Mensa, Bulldogs

BULLDOGS RALLY LATE BUT PIONEERS PREVAIL, 74-67

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore forward Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) had a career day with 23 points and 18 rebounds, but the Bryant University women's basketball team could not dig out of a 15-point halftime deficit, falling to Sacred Heart, 74-67, Wednesday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

Trailing by as many as 22 in the second half, the Bulldogs (13-12, 6-8 Northeast Conference) pushed the Pioneers (19-6, 12-2 NEC) to the brink with a late 20-13 run. Down by eight, 71-63, with 30 seconds left, junior Danielle Douglas (Silver Spring, Md.) canned two free throws and senior Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.) forced a Pioneer turnover to give the Bulldogs the ball back. On the ensuing inbound, the Black and Gold found junior Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) open but her long three hit the rim and the Pioneers grabbed the rebound.

Ankoma-Mensa's seventh double-double of the season was the most spectacular of her career. She finished with 23 points on 11-of-19 shooting and hauled down 18 caroms, helping the Bulldogs to a dominant 42-18 scoring advantage in the paint. Douglas and sophomore Steph Cardamone (Freehold, N.J.) both finished in double figures, with Douglas collecting 15 points thanks to 9-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe, and Cardamone adding 10 on 4-of-7 shooting.

Sacred Heart's Gabrielle Washington led all scorers with 27 points and Callan Taylor, Ericka Norman and Morgan Merriman all finished in double figures. Taylor finished with 17 points and eight rebounds and Merriman recorded a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Meeting for the second time in five days as part of the New England Knockout and NEC Rivalry Week, the Pioneers jumped on the Bulldogs early, scorching the twine for a 54.8 percent (17-31) clip in the first half. That included a dominant 7-of-11 clip from beyond the arc. Leading by two, 16-14, with 13:41 remaining in the first half, the Pioneers ripped off an 11-3 run that was started and ended by triples from Washington. Sacred Heart built its lead to as many as 17 in the first half, hitting the mark on a Merriman layup with 1:22 remaining. Evans's jumper with nine seconds to go sent the Pioneers into the locker room with a 15-point, 43-28, lead.

It was more of the same from the visitors to start the second half, as the Pioneers got eight quick points from Washington to push their lead to game-high 22 points (55-33) with 16:36 remaining. Down 20 points with 11:55 to play, the Bulldogs made their move. An Ankoma-Mensa layup ended a nearly three-minute scoring lapse to cut the lead to 18 and back-to-back baskets from Cardamone and Ankoma-Mensa made it a 14-point (59-45) game with 8:52 to play.

A Taylor layup snapped the Bulldogs' quick five-point spurt, but eight straight points from Stahura, Douglas and Ankoma-Mensa cut the deficit to just eight (61-53) with 4:08 to play. Another big bucket, this time a three, from Taylor stopped the run and started a string back-and-forth play. A Norman free throw pushed the Pioneer lead back to 12 but Stahura knocked down a trifecta to keep the Bulldogs in the game with just 57 seconds left.

Down by 10, 71-61, with 35 seconds to play, Douglas canned a pair of free throws and the Bulldogs were able to force a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play. Douglas was fouled again on a drive to the basket and hit both free throws to pull the Black and Gold within six. Needing a big defensive play, Stahura forced a turnover on the next inbounds play, giving the Bulldogs the basketball with 23 seconds remaining. Off of the inbounds, the Bulldogs worked their play to perfection but Whittington's three wouldn't fall.

Despite shooting nearly 55 percent in the first half, Sacred Heart finished at 43 percent for the game after cooling off in the second half. Bryant finished 25-of-66 from the field but was hamstrung by inconsistent free throw shooting all night. The Bulldogs shot 48.1 percent (13-27) from the charity stripe, hitting 9-of-19 in the second half.  Bryant did win the rebounding battle, 48-41, including a 19-10 advantage on the offensive glass.  That margin helped the Bulldogs to a 17-4 advantage in second chance scoring.

The Bulldogs will look to end their first three-game losing streak of the season this weekend with a pair of contests in Western Pennsylvania. Bryant faces Saint Francis (PA) on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2:30 p.m. before finishing its trip on Monday against Robert Morris. The Bulldogs defeated both teams at home in early January.