Bryant drops hard-fought battle with CCSU, 66-59

NEW BRITAIN, Conn.  – Sophomore Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W.Va.) finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, but the Bryant University women's basketball team fell on the road to the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils, 66-59, on Saturday afternoon in New Britain.

GAME INFORMATION

Central Connecticut 66, Bryant 59

Records: Bryant 7-16 (6-6 NEC), Central Connecticut 5-18 (5-7 NEC)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium (New Britain, Conn.)

COACH BURKE'S COMMENTS

"It's a tough game to lose," Bryant head coach Mary Burke said. "I thought it really cmae down to the fourth quarter where we didn't guard and had trouble scoring. Overall we gave up too many offensive rebounds and second-chance scoring, which is not a recipe for us to be successful."

KEY MOMENTS

• CCSU's Emma McCamus hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with 8:54 remaining in the fourth quarter to erase a Bryant lead that was as high as eight points.
• The Blue Devils' Andi Lydon scored a basket with 39 seconds remaining to extend CCSU's lead to three and secure the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Blue Devils took a 20-16 lead after the first quarter of play. Both teams shot 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) in the quarter.
• Led by Holloway's seven points in the quarter, Bryant took a 34-32 lead into the half. The Bulldogs allowed CCSU to score just 12 points in the quarter.
• Bryant led the third quarter, 15-12, as six different players scored for the Bulldogs. Junior Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) found sophomore Masey Zegarowski (Hamilton, Mass.) open in the corner for a big 3-pointer from long range.
• CCSU outscored Bryant, 22-10, in the final quarter. The Bulldogs put up two 3-pointers in the final seconds to try and narrow the gap, but both were blocked by CCSU defenders.

STATS

• Central Connecticut shot 20-of-21 (95.2 percent) from the free throw line
• Palmer finished with 13 points and seven assists.
• Redshirt junior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) had three steals in the game, tying her season average. She is the current Northeast Conference leader in both steals (68) and steals per game (3.0).  

GAME NOTES

• Ashley scored her 400^th career point in Saturday's game. The redshirt junior came into the day sitting at 396 career points. She finished the game with five points on 2-of-4 shooting from the floor.
• Holloway secured her 400^th career rebound in the game. She came into the game with 391 overall rebounds.
• Bryant moves to 6-6 in NEC play.

UP NEXT

Bryant is next in action on Saturday, Feb. 17 when the Bulldogs head to Emmitsburg, Maryland, to take on the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.