Bryant falls in Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament Championship to Brown, 72-60

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –  Sophomore Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) had a double-double and redshirt junior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) had 10 points and six steals, but the Bryant University women's basketball team fell to Brown University in the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament Championship game on Sunday, 72-60.

For their play in the tournament, Holloway and Ashley were each named to the Ocean State Tip-Off All-Tournament Team. Brown's Taylor Will was also on the team, while the Bears' Justine Gaziano was named Tournament MVP.

GAME INFORMATION

Brown 72, Bryant 60
Records: Bryant 1-7, Brown 7-1
Location: Alumni Hall at Mullaney Gymnasium – Providence College (Providence, R.I.)
Attendance: 548

COACH BURKE'S COMMENTS

"I thought coming into the game, it was going to be a tough offensive challenge because of all of the offensive weapons that Brown has. Unfortunately, six minutes into the game, Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) gets hurt. I think that definitely caused a few inconsistencies on what we were trying to do offensively after that."

"I thought in the second half, we did a better job of taking care of the ball and getting some points in the half-court set, but it's a tough challenge to win the game without your starting point guard. I thought we did battle, we played hard until the end, but Brown is a great offensive team with a lot of weapons."

KEY MOMENTS

• Palmer's injury occurred with 3:55 remaining in the first quarter.
• Trailing by as many as 20, junior Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) hit a 3-pointer with 2:07 left in the game to bring the game to within 11 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After scoring the initial basket, Bryant surrendered an 11-2 run to the Bears in the game's opening quarter.
• Bryant scored just five points in the second quarter, while Brown was able to score 18.
• The Bulldogs shot 44.4 percent from the floor in the third and kept pace with Brown, each team scoring 20 points in the quarter. Freshman Hannah Scanlan (Rumson, N.J.) scored four points and grabbed four rebounds in the frame.
• Bryant won the fourth quarter, scoring 23 points in the final 10 minutes. Holloway added 10 points in the final frame, and classmate Masey Zegarowski (Hamilton, Mass.) chipped in eight.

STATS

• Holloway had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Her career high is 24 points, set earlier this season at Holy Cross.
• Zegarowski set a new season-best with 12 points. The guard also had two rebounds and an assist for the Bulldogs on Sunday.
• Scanlan set a new career-best with 11 rebounds.
• Bryant won the rebounding battle, 37-36. Holloway and Scanlan each had double-figures on the glass, while no Brown player had more than eight in the game.

GAME NOTES

• Holloway collected her third double-double of the season in Sunday's game. As a freshman, the Morgantown, West Virginia, native had two all year. She also scored at least 20 points for the second time this season and third time in her career.
• Ashley had six steals in Ocean State Championship, which is the second-most in a game she has had in her career.
• This was the second meeting between Brown and Bryant this season. The two teams played at Brown on Nov. 12 in the Bulldogs' second game of the season.

UP NEXT

Bryant is next in action this Thursday, Dec. 7 for a 7 p.m. tip-off and will be played at Bryant's Chace Athletic Center. Tickets can be purchased here or by calling (401)-319-TIXX (8499).