Bulldogs hold Knights to four points in the second quarter, win big, 70-41, Monday night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After outscoring Fairleigh Dickinson, 21-4, in the second quarter, the Bryant University women's basketball team dominates the final 30 minutes on the road, winning, 70-41, and advancing to 2-0 in conference play.

After trailing,16-12, at the end of the first quarter, junior Chanel Ramcharran (Pickering, Ont.) hit a three from the top of the key, pulling the Bulldogs (5-8, 2-0) within one, 18-17, with 6:10 to play in the second. The Black and Gold took the lead, 19-18, for the first time since the 6:17 mark in the first, off a pair of free throws from sophomore Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.). The buckets from the charity stripe sparked a Bryant 16-point run, 30-18, leaving the Knights (4-10, 1-1) scoreless for 9:55. Senior Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) nailed a three to send the Bulldogs into the break with their largest lead of the half (13), 33-20.

The Knights' Erika Livermore saw the only two buckets for the home team, while the Bulldogs had six players contribute offensively, led by Ramcharran, who scored 8-of-13 points in the second period. Winder led the Bulldogs offensively, totaling 14 points off 3-of-9 from the floor, 2-of-6 from three and 6-of-6 from the line. Bailey recorded her second double-double of the season off 12 points and 13 rebounds, while junior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) added 11. The Bulldogs committed a season-low 12 turnovers, while forcing the Knights into 21, including 11 steals by the Black and Gold. Bryant shot 23-of-61 from the field, 7-of-21 from three and 17-of-21 from the line, while the Knights finished 13-for-53 overall, 3-for-13 from behind the arc and 12-for-17 from the chalk. FDU was led offensively by Livermore, who recorded 10 points, and Kelsey Cruz, who notched 12. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Knights, 44-37, maintaining their 13-game streak.  

Bryant carried the momentum into the second half, forcing the Knights into a shot clock violation, before going on a 10-point run to go up 20, 40-20, with 7:15 to play in the third. The Bulldogs found their largest lead of the quarter (24), when Klein scored in the paint to put the team up, 46-22, with 4:57 to play in the third quarter. The Knights pulled back within 18, after a six-point run to close out the third with Bryant on top, 48-30.

The Bulldogs were on fire from downtown to start the final period, as Bailey hit two and Ramcharran added one of her own. Bryant scored a game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 50 percent from three in the second half. The Bulldogs found their largest lead of the game, 29, after junior Amanda Hinton (Bristow, Va.) converted the 3-point play to finish the game, 70-41, in Bryant's favor.

The Bulldogs continue their three-game conference road trip, heading to play Wagner next, on Saturday at 1 p.m.