Bulldogs fade late vs. Mountaineers

Women fall to Mount St. Mary's, 71-63, Saturday afternoon

In a back-and-forth game that saw eight lead changes and nine game-tying baskets, the Bulldogs (13-15, 6-11 Northeast Conference) came up just short at the end of the contest, as the Mountaineers (14-14, 10-7 NEC) earned the season sweep with the victory.

After senior Kaitlyn Hinck (Bow, N.H.) put the home team ahead by one, 59-58, with 6:30 to play by means of a 3-pointer, the Mount responded with a long ball from Kelly Guerriero to retake the lead. Two minutes, a missed jumper and a Bryant turnover later, it was Guerriero again doing damage from the outside on her game-high fourth trey of the game to push the Mountaineers ahead by five (64-59) with 3:31 remaining.

But the Bulldogs rallied back on back-to-back baskets just 28 seconds apart, as sophomore Steph Cardamone (Freehold, N.J.) banked in a layup to trim the deficit to three. Then, with 1:48 left in the second half, junior Danielle Douglas (Silver Spring, Md.) forced a turnover to spring her ahead on a fastbreak layup chance. Her basket missed, but classmate Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) was right there to pick her up, as the junior's layup made it 64-63.

But Sydney Henderson drove to the basket and made a layup on the ensuing possession, and after a Bryant turnover and missed basket, Henderson went to the free throw line and made one shot to push the lead to four (67-63) with 52 seconds to play.

The Bulldogs took over, but the home side could not connect down the stretch, as a long-range shot missed with 41 seconds left, allowing the Mountaineers to ice the game with free throws in the waning moments of regulation.

Sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) led all Bulldogs with 14 points and hauled in seven rebounds, while Soper dropped 12 points and finished with a game-high nine boards and dished a side-high seven helpers. Douglas rounded out the group of double-digit scorers for the Bulldogs with 11 points, four assists, a block and two steals while reeling in six rebounds.

Mount St. Mary's boasted four double-digit scorers, as Henderson led all players with a game-high 17 points while shooting 6-for-10 from the field. Selina Mann paced the offense with 12 points and a game-high eight assists and also came up with a game-high four takeaways. Both Guerriero and Jessie Kaufman added 14 points apiece and were sharp from the outside. The two players went a combined 8-for-15 (.533) from long range.

Both sides enjoyed respectable shooting performances, as the Bulldogs went 25-for-61 (.410) from the field while the Mount connected on 23-of-50 (.460). The difference between both sides came from the outside and from the free throw line, as the Mountaineers shot 12-for-27 (.444) as a team from long range while Bryant hit just 5-of-17 (.294) from the outside. The numbers were just as lopsided from the charity stripe, where Bryant made only half of its chances (8-16) while the visitors converted 13-of-17 (.765).

The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Mountaineers by a 40-31 margin and held a 28-18 edge in points scored in the paint; the visitors, meanwhile, earned three more steals (9-6), and both teams finished with one block apiece.

A back-and-forth first half resulted in both teams tying the game on seven separate occasions until Bryant used an 11-4 run starting at the 8:15 mark of the frame to pull ahead, 34-27, with 4:36 to go in the half. But the Mount charged back by scoring 12 straight points to go ahead by five (39-34) with 1:38 left in the stanza. A Bryant 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to two before the buzzer sounded, and the Mountaineers took a 39-37 lead into the break.

Soper paced the Bulldogs with a game-high 10 points in the first frame, while Henderson chipped in nine points and Guerriero added eight. The Mountaineers saw a tremendous output from their bench players, as non-starters accounted for 15 of the Mount's 39 points (38.5 percent).

Bryant closes the book on the 2011-12 campaign - its final season of reclassification – with a Monday night showdown against Wagner College on Feb. 27. The Bulldogs will look for the season sweep of the Seahawks and will also honor its two seniors with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center.

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