Bulldogs drop nailbiter, 61-59, at Canisius Sat.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – It took a full 40 minutes to determine a victor, but 11 second half points from Kayla Hoohuli lifted Canisius to a 61-59 victory over the Bryant University women's basketball team, Satuday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center.

With 8 seconds remaining in the contest, Hoohuli hit 1-of-2 from the line to give the Griffs a 61-59 edge, and despite a last-second shot attempt, the Bulldogs fell just short in a valiant effort.

With the loss, Bryant falls to 2-6 on the year while Canisius improves to 4-4 overall.

Senior forward Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) finished with a team-high 13 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, while classmate Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) and graduate student Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) each chipped in 10 points apiece. Senior guard Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) added eight points in the loss and junior Melissa Corraro (Shelton, Conn.) put up a career-best six points in extended minutes.

Hoohuli led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting (8-11 from the line), while Jamie Ruttle added 10 points to lead the Griffs.

In similar fashion to Wednesday night at Yale, the Bulldogs got off to another blistering start, opening up a 16-12 advantage nearly halfway through the opening frame. The Golden Griffins hung tough but some sharp shooting, including a 7-2 run, put the visitors up seven, 23-16, with eight minutes to play until halftime.

Both teams battled back-and-forth in the final minutes of the first half with Canisius grabbing its first lead since the opening ticks before Dani Anderson's (Wellington, Kan.) second 3-pointer of the contest put Bryant back up 32-31. A Griff free throw knotted it up again until Chanel Ramcharran (Pickering, Ont.) knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to put the Black and Gold up, 34-32, heading into the half.

Ankoma-Mensa leads Bryant at the half with seven points and seven rebounds, with Bailey and Anderson each adding six apiece, however Canisius's Kayla Hoohuli leads all scorers with eight points on 6-of-8 shooting from the free throw line.

Bryant opened the second half on a 5-2 run, extending its lead to five points, 39-34 at the 17:15 mark. However, an 8-3 run by the Griffs, aided by some strong play off the bench from Porter, knotted the game up, 42-42, at the under-12 media break.

Despite a drought of 10:06 without a field goal, the Bulldogs still found themselves in front, 44-42, until a Jen Morabito trifecta granted Canisius its first lead of the second half with just over nine minutes left in the contest.

The two teams traded the lead back-and-forth with neither team able to pull away until Canisius built a four points advantage, 55-51, its largest of the contest with 4:33 remaining on the clock. And after a generally low scoring contest, both teams began to heat from long range going back and forth, but a mini 6-2 run by the Black and Gold left the hosts with a one point advantage with three minutes to play.

Despite multiple chances down the stretch, Bryant was unable to regain the lead, falling eventually 61-59.

The Bulldogs return to action on Tuesday when they head to Dartmouth for their final Ivy League opponent of the regular season. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

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