Bulldogs notch third NEC win, 58-55, at Monmouth

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PICKS UP BIG ROAD WIN AT MONMOUTH, 58-55, SATURDAY

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Down three with 3.8 seconds remaining, the Hawks advanced the ball up the court, but were unable to get off a shot attempt as the Bryant University women's basketball team notched a 58-55 victory on the road at Monmouth Saturday afternoon.

A huge bucket by Douglas with 57 seconds left granted Bryant (7-13, 3-6 Northeast Conference) a 56-52 lead, but a Monmouth (8-12, 5-4) free throw cut the lead to just three with 40 seconds remaining in Saturday's contest.

The Hawks controlled the ball with 18 ticks left on the clock. After a missed 3-pointer, Monmouth's Sara English corralled the rebound and tossed up a layup, drawing a foul in the process, but was unable to convert at the line.

Off the rebound, senior Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) grabbed the ball and was fouled, knocking down a pair at the line to put Bryant up, 58-55, with 3.8 seconds left on the clock.

Junior Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) led the Bulldogs with 18 points and 16 rebounds for her seventh-straight double-double effort, while Douglas added 12 points, seven boards, three assists and three steals. Junior Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) finished with nine points, while senior Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) and junior Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) each chipped in six points.

Alysha Womack led Monmouth with 11 points and six boards as the only double-digit scorer for the host Hawks.

Bryant shot just 38 percent from the field, while Monmouth finished at a 30 percent clip. The Bulldogs once again dominated the rebounding battle grabbing 48 to the Hawk's 37.

After finding themselves down, 5-0, to start Saturday's contest, the Bulldogs scored 13 of the next 15 points to open up a 13-7 advantage nearly six minutes into the contest.

Monmouth was able to answer with a couple of baskets of their own, cutting the lead to just two through ten minutes, but Bryant's hot shooting extended their advantage to double digits at the 7:31 mark, 23-13.

The Bulldogs continued their impressive defensive showing through the final minutes of the first frame, holding the host Hawks to just 27 percent shooting from the field and 20 points. Bryant led at the half, 32-20.

Ankoma-Mensa put up another monster half, posting 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Douglas and Schissler each added six points. Kelsey Chambers led Monmouth at the break with seven points off the bench.

The Hawks came roaring out of the locker room with the aggressive play that seemed to be lacking in the first half, cutting the double digit Bryant lead to just five points, 36-31, through five minutes of the final frame.

As foul trouble began to plague the Bulldogs, Monmouth took advantage at the free throw line, shooting 16 freebies through just ten minutes of the second half, but Bryant continued to hold a slim margin though, 44-41.

Monmouth took their first lead of the afternoon, 46-44, since the opening minutes of the contest off a pair of free throws from Carly Thibault at the 8:30 mark of the second half.

Six-straight points from Bailey shifted the lead back in favor of Bryant, 50-46, with just over six minutes to play.

A three-point play from Monmouth's Abigail Martin brought the Hawks within a single-point, but a pair from the charity stripe from Douglas pushed the Bulldog lead back to three points, 52-49 with under five minutes remaining.

The back-and-forth action found Monmouth within one point again after a Gabby Singer steal-and-score at the 4:10 mark cut the Bryant advantage to 52-51.

The Bulldogs will look to close out their road trip on Monday against New Jersey-foe Fairleigh Dickinson. Tip is set for 7 p.m.