Bulldogs drop tough-one to Youngstown St. 75-59

DESPITE SHOOTING SEASON-HIGH FROM FIELD, WOMEN'S BASEKTBALL FALLS TO PENGUINS 75-59

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO – Despite holding a lead for almost half of Sunday's contest, the Bulldogs fell to unbeaten Youngstown St., 75-59, to close out their Ohio roadtrip.

The Bulldogs aggressive mentality on both ends of the floor was evident from the opening whistle, however, despite shooting a season-high 52 percent from the field, Youngstown's Brandi Brown was too much to handle as the senior forward put up 26 points and 19 rebounds to lead her team to victory.

Bryant was led by another solid effort from junior Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) who finished with a season-high 14 points and nine boards. Classmate Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) added 12 points and six boards, while senior Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) chipped in 14 points, 5 boards and 3 assists.

Stingy defense on both ends allowed for only one basket through four minutes of play coming in the form of a Maureen Leahy (Springfield, Pa.) put-back.

A pair of baskets from Ankoma-Mensa and Dogulas extended the Bryant advantage to, 10-3, however the 3-point shooting by the Penguins brought them within a basket with 10:54 remaining in the opening half.

The Bulldogs kept pushing the basketball and jumped out to a 16-10 lead off a Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) layup. Youngstown St. was boosted by two baskets from freshman Shar'rae Davis, which cut the deficit to 18-15 at the 7:14 mark.

The hard-nosed defense by the Bulldogs continued into the final minutes of the first frame, as Ankoma-Mensa continued to control the boards. Schissler added four quick points to extend the Bryant lead to 25-19.

The Penguins would not go away as junior Liz Hornberger scored a quick layup and buried a 3-pointer to bring the hosts within a single-point with 1:22 remaining in the half.

Just before the first half came to a close, Amanda Barger hit a huge trifecta to put Youngstown St. up, 27-25, with under a minute to play. After a pair of helter-skelter possessions from both teams, senior Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) controlled the ball and beat her defender into the paint to nail her second basket of the afternoon, evening the score at 27-27 heading into the locker room.

At the half, Ankoma-Mensa led all scorers with eight points and five boards. Brown led the Penguins with six points and six rebounds after 20 minutes of play.

In the opening minutes of the second half, the Penguins applied a halfcourt trap which seemed to stymie the Bulldogs, causing a few turnovers that allowed Youngstown St. to jump out to a 33-29 advantage.

The home team continued the aggressive play, extending the lead to 40-34, but the Bulldogs hung tough, cutting the deficit to just three off a Schissler three-point play.

A pair of free throws and a bucket from Douglas put the Bulldogs up 41-40 with just under 12 minutes to play in the contest.

After trading a couple of baskets with the Bulldogs, the Penguins were able to maintain a slim, but steady 53-47 lead with under eight minutes left in the game.

Youngstown St. extended their lead to 58-47 with six minutes to play by forcing Bryant into multiple turnovers through its tough halfcourt defense.

Brown continued to be a force in the low post, dominating the glass and getting to the line consistently throughout the half. The hosts opened up a 65-49 advantage, but Bryant hung tough, putting in two quick layups to cut the lead to 65-53 with 3:13 remaining in the contest.

The Penguins closed the game on a 10-6 run, handing the Bulldogs their fourth loss of the 2012-13 season.

The Bulldogs were able to hold Youngstown St. to only 37 percent shooting, but the Penguins dominated the offensive glass (20-9), cleaning up second chance opportunities. Turnovers plagued Bryant for the second-straight contest, committing a season-high 29, compared to only 10 for the host Penguins.

Bryant will have 10 days off before taking the court against Brown in Providence, R.I. on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

For all the latest news on Bryant University women's basketball, visit BryantBulldogs.com.