Bailey's buzzer beater propels Bulldogs to 88-86 win at Saint Francis Mon.

LORETTO, PA. – Thanks to a Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) buzzer beater and a career-high 36 points from Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.), the Bryant University women's basketball team topped Saint Francis U., 88-86, Monday night in DeGol Arena, for the first time in program history.

With 4.7 seconds left on the clock, sophomore Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio) inbounded the ball to Bailey at midcourt. The senior point guard turned and took off toward the basket, racing past multiple defenders to lay in the game winner as time expired to give Bryant the 88-86 victory.

The Bulldogs (8-7, 3-1 Northeast Conference) pick up their sixth win in seven games and their first ever victory at Saint Francis U. (4-11, 2-2 NEC).

Schissler put together a career night with 36 points, on 8-of-11 shooting from deep (both career highs), while Rucker continued her strong play with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Bailey finished with 14 points, including the game winner, despite battling foul trouble most of the game, while senior forward Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) put up 13 points and five boards. Graduate Student Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) chipped in a very complete performance with nine points, eight rebounds and six assists and junior guard Melissa Corraro (Shelton, Conn.) played clutch minutes off the bench adding six assists  in 24 minutes.

The Red Flash closed the first half on a 7-1 run to take a 36-34 lead into the locker room. Schissler led the Bulldogs with 17 points on 5-of-7 from deep while Rucker added 11, combining for 27 of Bryant's 34 first half points. Williams led Saint Francis with 19 points and four boards.

The halftime break didn't slow don't either squad, but it was the Bulldogs who found themselves up, 44-41, behind seven second half points from Schissler, less than five minutes into the second half. The two teams continued to trade blows but it was back-to-back trifectas from Williams that gave the Red Flash a 56-52 lead, their largest of the game, with 13 minutes remaining on the clock.

Rucker answered with a pair of buckets of her own to knot the score, but an Aisha Brock triple put SFU back up, 59-56, with 11:04 left in the contest. Schissler continued to be a saving grace for the Bulldogs knocking down her seventh  long ball, followed by an Ankoma-Mensa layup to tie the score again, 67-67, with 7:34 left on the clock.

Saint Francis U. and Bryant stood tied up 75-75 with 4:48 left on the clock, until a Soper layup put the Bulldogs up a bucket with just over four minutes to play in a crucial NEC showdown.

The Red Flash took a two-point lead on an Alexa Hayward and-one until a Bailey lay in tied it up again, 82-82. The hosts opened up an 86-82 edge before an Ankoma-Mensa basket cut the lead to two with 1:20 left in the contest.

Another Ankoma-Mensa layup combined with four-straight points from Bailey, including the game winner as time expired, propelled the Bulldogs to their first ever win at DeGol Arena, 88-86.

The Black and Gold head back to Smithfield sporting its best start through four games of NEC play in program history as they prepare for showdowns with LIU Brooklyn on Saturday and St. Francis Brooklyn on Monday.

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