Bulldogs come up just short at Quinnipiac, 74-61

WOMEN'S HOOPS GIVES QUINNIPIAC ALL THEY CAN HANDLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN HAMDEN, CONN.

HAMDEN, CONN. – Despite bringing it within just four points with two minutes to play, the Bryant University women's basketball came up just short against Quinnipiac, 74-61, Monday night at the TD Bank SportsCenter.

With 9:44 left on the clock, a 5-0 Bryant (10-16, 6-9 Northeast Conference) run sliced the Quinnipiac (25-2, 16-0 NEC) lead to just 15, 60-45. The Bulldogs continued to fight, bringing it within 14 points, 62-48, thanks to some inspired play from freshman Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio). But time was against the Black and Gold as just under minutes remained in the contest.

Bryant rose to the occasion stymying the Quinnipiac attack and capitalizing on turnovers, bringing themselves within just seven points, 63-56, with 4:38 left.

A 10-0 Bulldog run lasting nearly five minutes cut the hosts advantage to just five points, 63-58, with just under four minutes remaining in the game. A Jasmine Martin layup at 3:21 granted Quinnipiac a seven-point edge, but a Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) And-one answered for the visitors, bringing them within four points with 2:22 remaining. Quinnipiac responded with a Camryn Warner triple as the lead was boosted back to seven.

The Bulldogs were unable to convert down the stretch as Quinnipiac held on to squeak out a 74-61 victory.

Senior Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) paced Bryant with 16 points and three assists, while junior Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) put up nine points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes. Rucker continued her strong play posting 10 points and eight rebounds. Winder and junior Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) added eight and even points, respectively, off the bench.

Warner and Martin lead Quinnipiac with 17 points apiece, while Felicia Barron put up 15 points and a whopping eight steals.

After a slow start on both ends, the Bobcats began to find their stride, opening up a 15-6 advantage at the 11:30 mark of the first half. Despite the mini-run by the hosts, the Quinnipiac attack was halted by some stingy Bulldog defense as both teams struggled offensively through the eight-minute.

A pair of back-to-back 3-pointers from Barron pushed the Bobcat lead to 15, 26-11, but Bryant was able to keep it close, cutting the deficit to 12 with under four minutes to play until the halftime break. The Black and Gold were able to bring it within just nine points, 24-33, until a barrage of trifectas from the Bobcats extended the lead all the way up to 16. The Bulldogs closed the half with a bucket from Douglas to put themselves within striking distance, 40-26, heading into the locker room.

Douglas paced Bryant with eight points and a pair of assists, while Schissler added seven off the bench. Barron led all scorers at the break with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with Warner posting nine points in 13 minutes of play. Neither team shot exceptionally well in the opening frame with Bryant putting up a 35 percent clip, while Quinnipiac finished the half at 47 percent (14-30), 75 percent from 3-point land, after starting just 5-for-15 from the field.

The second half picked up right where the first ended as the Bobcats remained in the driver's seat, opening up a 51-34 advantage through the first media break of the period. Quinnipiac was able to hold its comfortable double-digit lead through the 12 minute mark but the Bulldogs would not go quietly, down 57-39 with 11:49 left on the clock

The Bulldogs will continue their stretch of four games in eight days when they welcome Sacred Heart to the Chace Athletic Center on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.).

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