Holy Cross bests Bryant in overtime, 59-57

WORCESTER, Mass. –  Sophomore Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) scored a career-high 24 points and pulled down 13 rebounds and redshirt-junior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) had a Division I program record nine steals, but the Bryant University women's basketball team fell to Holy Cross on Sunday afternoon, 59-57, in overtime at the Hart Center in Worcester.

Ashley's nine steals went along with nine points and 12 rebounds, making her one point and one rebound away from what would have been the first triple-double in Division I program history.

GAME INFORMATION

Holy Cross 59, Bryant 57

Records: Bryant 0-5, Holy Cross 3-2

Location: Hart Center (Worcester, R.I.)

Attendance: 1,047

COACH BURKE'S COMMENTS

"I thought the team gave a great effort today," Bryant head coach Mary Burke said. "I thought they played hard. They had to come in to Holy Cross, which is a very good program and is historically one of the top teams in the Patriot League. We really came out and did a great job on their two scorers and really contained them. We held Holy Cross to 20 points less than what they normally average, they normally average 75 points and we held them to 59. I was proud of the effort and proud of how hard the team played, we just fell short. It's discouraging, but the future is bright but we'll keep working hard."

KEY MOMENTS

• Lauren Manis scored a layup with four seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 50. Junior Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) was unable to hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Manis scored 19 points and 12 rebounds to lift the Crusaders past Bryant.
• Bryant went on a 12-0 run in the second quarter and went into the half with a one-point lead. Holloway scored nine of Bryant's 12 points in that span.
• Sophomore Stephanie Lesko (Rumson, N.J.) hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 40 in the middle of an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter. Bryant had trailed for the previous 4:41 heading back into the third quarter.
• Holy Cross ran out to a 7-0 start in overtime. Palmer answered back with a 3-pointer and a tough running layup to bring the game within two points.

STATS

• Bryant out-rebounded Holy Cross, 46-39. It was the first occasion this season where the Bulldogs won the rebounding battle.
• Holloway (13) and Ashley (12) accounted for more than half of the team's rebounds.
• Holloway also led all players with three blocks.

GAME NOTES

• Ashley's nine steals were a Division I program record and were one shy of the overall record set by Beth Connealy in 1995.
• Holloway earned her second double-double of the season at Holy Cross. The Morgantown, West Virginia, native also registered a double-double at Maine on Nov. 14.
• There were 13 lead changes in Sunday's game, along with the game being tied twice. No team ever led by more than nine points.
• Sunday's game marked Bryant's second overtime game of the season, also heading into overtime at Maine.
• Holy Cross is now 7-3 all-time versus Bryant.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs are next in action Sunday night when the team hosts Boston University at 7 p.m. This is the first meeting between the two schools in Bryant's Division I history.