Bryant falls to Maine in overtime thriller

Bangor, Maine – Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, but the Bryant women's basketball team fell to the University of Maine Black Bears on Tuesday evening, 70-68, in an overtime thriller at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Holloway scored 12 of her 19 points in the first half to lead the Bulldogs in scoring. Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) and Stephanie Lesko (Rumson, N.J.) also scored in double-figures for the Bulldogs; Ashley finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Lesko finished with 10 points.

GAME INFORMATION

Maine 70, Bryant 68 (OT)

Records: Bryant 0-3, Maine 2-1

Location: Cross Insurance Center (Bangor, Maine)

Attendance: 1,137

COACH BURKE'S COMMENTS

"I thought for the first time all season, the team played Bryant women's basketball," head coach Mary Burke said. "They played passionately, they played hard. Unfortunately, we came up a little short, but we played a very good team. We're starting to show signs of what our program is all about. The younger players are coming up, as well. This was a tough stretch, three road games, finishing up with a trip all the way to Maine, I thought the team handled the adversity of that well. I was really proud of that effort, but there are still things we need to clean up."

KEY MOMENTS

• With 2:44 left in the game and the Bulldogs up by two points, Holloway came out of the post to swat a Maeve Carroll shot to help protect the Bulldogs lead.
• With 2.5 seconds remaining on the clock, Carroll came up with a steal on a Bryant inbounds play and passed the ball back to a teammate to run out the clock and end Bryant's chance at tying the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bryant went on a 6-0 run midway through the first quarter to grab a 10-4 lead over the Black Bears.
• The Bulldogs ended the first half on a 9-0 run, capped off by a 3-pointer by Lesko. It erased Maine's largest lead of the game.
• In the third quarter, Ashley scored six points and had two assists to help the Bulldogs stay close.
• Bryant outscored Maine in the fourth quarter, 17-13 to force an overtime period.

STATS

• This was the second-straight game that Bryant had three scorers in double figures. Against Brown, Holloway and Lesko were joined by Kathleen Everson (Farmingville, N.Y.) for scorers who had at least 10 points.
• Bryant had its best field goal percentage of the season at Maine on Tuesday. The Bulldogs shot 47.2 percent from the floor. Their previous high was 39.3 percent at Brown on Nov. 12.
• The Black and Gold also shot a season-best 71.4 percent from the free throw line in Tuesday's game. Holloway was 7-of-11 from the charity stripe to lead the Bulldogs in free throws made.
• Freshman Hannah Scanlan (Rumson, N.J.) scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds for the Bulldogs. She played for a career-high 35 minutes.
• Holloway finished 6-of-10 from the floor.
• The Bulldogs were edged on the glass and were outrebounded by Maine, 40-36. However, Bryant won the battle on the defensive boards, 27-23.

GAME NOTES

• The Bulldogs have played three games in three different states to open the season. Friday's season opener at Boston College was in Massachusetts, while Sunday's game at Brown was in Rhode Island.
• Holloway finished the game with her first double-double of the season and two points shy of her career high in scoring.
• Bryant is now 3-5 all-time versus Maine.

UP NEXT

Bryant is off for a week before hosting New Hampshire on Nov. 21 at the Chace Athletic Center. Tip-off is scheduled for  5 p.m. This will be Bryant's first home game of the season. Tickets can be purchased here.