Bulldogs prove they are top-dog, take down Terriers, 63-54

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball team played dominant in the first half, outscoring St. Francis Brooklyn, 36-19, as the Bulldogs held on to win, 63-54.

In the first, the Bulldogs (11-13, 6-7 NEC) went four minutes without scoring a bucket from the floor, but freshman Masey Zegarowski's (Hamilton, Ont.) triple at the 4:56 mark pulled Bryant within five of the Terriers (6-18, 4-9), 12-7. A minute and a half later, the rookie hit her second three of the game, this time from the opposite wing in transition, as the Black and Gold narrowed the margin to three, 13-10. Junior Naomi Ashley's (Hamilton, Ont.) last-second offensive board and put-back tied the contest, 15-15, at the end of the period.

In the first minute of the second quarter, the Bulldogs found their first lead of the game, 18-15, after junior Kathleen Everson (Farmingville, N.Y.) converted the three-point play from the line. Beginning with sophomore Haley Connors' (West Hartford, Conn.) three with 5:33 to play in the second, the Black and Gold went on a 16-3 run to close out the half up, 36-19. The Bulldogs finished 40.6 percent from the floor, 40.0 percent from three and 85.7 percent from the line, while holding the Terriers to a quarter-low four points in the first half.

The Black and Gold shot 37.1 percent from the floor for the game, a 5-for-19 mark from downtown and finished 85.7 percent from the chalk. The Terriers finished 37.0 percent from the field, hit 4-for-17 from behind the arc and shot 72.7 percent from the line.

Zegarowski led the Bulldogs with 13 points off a 5-for-12 mark. Senior Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) finished with her first double-double of the season and eighth of her career off 12 points and 10 rebounds. The center went 6-for-9 from the field, while adding four assists, three blocks and four steals.

After leading by as much as 19 in the third, the Terriers went on a 7-0 run to cut the margin to 12, 40-28, at the media timeout. With 21 seconds remaining in the third, Samantha Keltos drilled a three to cut Bryant's lead to single-digits, 38-47, but freshman Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) stroked two from the line to carry the Bulldogs into the fourth with an 11-point advantage.

The Bulldogs opened the fourth with an easy bucket, as Ashley found Olander for the lay-in, marking the center's double-double performance. The Terriers again were able to erase the Bulldogs' big lead, cutting it from 20 to seven, following Maria Palarino's free throws with 3:01 to play. The visitor's efforts were in part of a 14-1 run, as Bryant did not score a bucket from the floor in six and a half minutes. Despite the Terriers success in the fourth, the Bulldogs hung on to win, 63-54.

The Black and Gold remain in Smithfield, where they host LIU Brooklyn on Monday at 7 p.m.