Ashley, Holloway get double-doubles in loss to Hartford

SMITHFILED, R.I. – Redshirt-senior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) and junior Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) both tallied double-doubles as the Bryant University women's basketball team fell to Hartford, 67-57, late Sunday afternoon.

Holloway led with 23 points and Ashley contributed 10. The duo grabbed 12 rebounds apiece.

THE PARTICULARS
Hartford 67, Bryant 57
Records: Bryant 2-8, Hartford 4-5
Location: Chase Family Arena (West Hartford, Conn.)

COACH BURKE COMMENTS

The team had a hard time overcoming the last 3 minutes of the first quarter that led to us being down 10 at the end of the quarter. The rest of the game was very even scoring," said head coach Mary Burke. "The biggest stat that stands out was our lack of taking care of the ball which negated all the great things the team did on defense. To then turn around and give the ball back with another opportunity to score, was just too much of a challenge to overcome. We will now use the next few weeks to commit to correcting these continuing issues in hopes to place the team in a better place to be successful. Truthfully it will be nice to finally get back home to the Chase Athletic Center."

KEY MOMENT

• With four minutes to go in the first quarter, four different Hawk players helped Hartford to a 10-0 run.
• Sophomore Hannah Scanlan (Rumson, N.J.) hit a layup to put the Bulldogs within five, but Hartford hit two back-to-back shots to go on a 12-0 run that would decide the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game started even keeled until the two-minute mark when Hartford made three back-to-back steals to help the Hawks to a 10-0 run to end the first quarter.
• Ashley ended the Hawks 7-0 run in the second quarter by hitting a pair of free throws, leading Bryant to an 8-2 run to end the half.
• Junior Masey Zegarowski (Hamilton, Ont.) hit a three in the corner to put the Bulldogs within eight, but Hartford grew its lead back to 12 with two minutes to go in the third.
• The Hawks sent the Bulldogs to the line eight times in the third quarter as Bryant scored seven of its 16 third quarter points from the charity stripe.
• Bryant strung together passes up the court to find Scanlan at the block for a layup to put the Bulldogs within three. 
• Hartford hit two back-to-back shots immediately after Scanlan's layup to kick-start a 12-0 run to end the game.

STATS

• Two Bulldogs tallied double-doubles including Holloway with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Ashley compiled 10 points and 12 rebounds shooting six-of-eight from the free throw line for her first double-double of the season, second of her career.
• Ashley led the Bulldogs with five steals.
• Scanlan also scored in double-digits with 10 points, three rebounds, a block and a steal.
• Bulldogs shot 16.7% from behind the arc as Zegarowski and Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) hit the only three's for the Black and Gold.
• Hartford scored 29 points capitalizing off Bryant's 32 turnovers.
• Bryant out-rebounded the Hawks 49-38.

GAME NOTES

• Ashley's double-double is her first of the season and second of her career with a season-high 10 points. The last time Ashley contributed a double-double was in 2017 when Bryant upset Sacred Heart in the conference quarterfinal.
• Holloway moves up two spots ranking fifth in Bryant's Division I scoring leaders. The West Virginia native has 976 career points and is just 24 points from reaching 1,000.
• Today marks Scanlan's third double-figure scoring game of the season, 12 of her career.
• Kandis Taylor (Sunrise, Fla.) tied her career-high with five rebounds during her first career start. 
• The Bulldogs fall to 0-2 against Hartford in the Division I era. Bryant still leads the series 6-3 all-time.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs take a 21-day break during the holiday season and will be back in action on December 30 to close out their non-conference schedule with Holy Cross at 2 p.m.