Bulldogs fall to Pioneers in the fourth, 64-60, Monday night in Smithfield

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – In the fight for first place, the Bryant University women's basketball team was edged out, 64-60, by Sacred Heart, after the Pioneers regained the lead late in the third quarter, following the Bulldogs' 21:22 advantage.

Junior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) found her first points of the game, finishing with a post move in the paint to extend Bryant's lead to five, 33-28, at the 9:38 mark in the third. The forward went on to score six of her seven points in the quarter. Sophomore Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.)  was the first Bulldog (15-12, 12-4 NEC) to reach double-digit points, diving past two Pioneer (16-11, 14-2) defenders and finishing the layup through contact, as Bryant took a seven-point lead, 35-28, with 9:06 to go in the period. Sacred Heart cut the deficit to four, 42-38, with 4:33 on the clock, after senior Kelcey Castro buried one from downtown with three seconds remaining on the shot clock. Junior Hannah Kimmel nailed her second three of the game, pulling the visitors within one possession, 42-41, with 3:32 to play in the third. The Pioneers earned back the lead, 44-42, after junior Adaysha Williams stroked one from deep with 2:04 on the clock. Williams' bucket gave the Pioneers their first advantage over the Bulldogs in 21:22, as they closed out the quarter on top, 46-44.

Freshman Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) took the lead back for the Bulldogs, 47-46, scoring her first points of the contest on a layup in transition at the 8:49 mark in the final period. Kimmel hit a three to put Sacred Heart up by two, 53-51, but freshman Haley Connors (West Haven, Conn.) responded to tie the game, 53-53, converting on both free throws. Junior Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.)  found her first double-double of the season off 12 points and 10 rebounds, including a jumper that tied the contest, 55-55, with 1:22 to play. Castro went on to score the next five Sacred Heart points to put them up five, 60-55, including three from the line with 0:39 remaining. Palmer cut the lead back to three, 60-57, hitting both from the charity stripe, but the Pioneers continued to convert from the chalk. In a last ditch effort, Bailey banked a three to pull Bryant within four, but the Pioneers dribbled out of pressure to seal the 64-60 victory and the first place seed with a two-game lead over Bryant.

Bailey and senior Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the Bulldogs with 13 points apiece. Bailey shot 3-for-4 from 3-point land and 5-for-10 from the floor in her 26 minutes of play. Rucker recorded her eighth-straight double-double and 17th of the season off 13 points and 10 rebounds. The power forward's 10 rebounds placed her just above 1,000-career rebounds. Olander stepped up with a double-double performance of her own off 10 points and a game and season-high 12 rebounds. The center shot 50 percent (5-10) from the field, while tying her season-best two blocks. The Bulldogs struggled from behind the arc, shooting only 21.1 percent (4-19), but managed to convert from the line, managing 88.9 percent (8-9).

Sacred Heart out-shot the Bulldogs from outside, hitting 36.8 percent (7-19) of its threes. The Pioneers were led by Kimmel with a game-high 22 points, finishing 41.2 percent (7-17) and 5-for-5 from the chalk, while also hitting a team-high 3-for-8 from behind the arc. Castro tacked on 17 points, shooting a team-best 50 percent (5-for-10) from the floor and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe.

Bailey sparked the Bulldogs offensively, draining a three with a hand in her face to pull Bryant within one, 12-11, at the 3:26 mark in the first. Following Bailey's bucket, the Black and Gold came out in a 1-2-2 press, coming up with back-to-back steals out of the full-court pressure. Bryant took their first lead of the game, 14-12, since the nine-minute mark, when Connors collected the cross-court pass from Bailey, hitting the three with 1:11 to go in the period. In the remaining 4:55 of the first half, the Bulldogs forced the Pioneers into five turnovers, before forcing another four in the opening 4:22 of the second quarter.

The Bulldogs opened the second quarter with the ball, when Olander played high low with senior Maureen Leahy (Springfield, Pa.), who gathered the pass and finished the lay in to put the home team up four, 16-12. Connors came up with four points in the second, including a steal where she penetrated the Pioneers' passing lane and finished the layup down the other end to extend the Bulldogs' margin to five, 20-15, with 7:57 on clock. The Black and Gold went on a nine-point run, finding their first double-digit margin of the game, 29-18, which included a 3-pointer by Bailey. The sophomore's basket from downtown put the Bulldogs up nine, 27-18, with 5:14 to play in the first half. The Pioneer's responded to Bryant's run, scoring six-straight points, beginning with a three ball by sophomore Tykera Carter to close out the half with a three-point Sacred Heart deficit, 31-28.  

The Pioneers and Bulldogs traded six lead changes before the visitors found the edge with 1:56 to play in the game and never gave it up, winning, 64-60, in Smithfield.

The Bulldogs hit the road next, traveling to Brooklyn to take on LIU on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.