Sacred Heart downs Bulldogs in fourth quarter thriller

FAIRFIELD, CONN. – In a strong defensive game, the Bryant University women's basketball team fell to Sacred Heart in the final seconds, 49-48.

Sophomore Hannah Scanlan (Rumson, N.J.) led the Bulldogs with 12 points as junior Taty LaFrance Boyce (Norwich, Conn.) chipped in nine.

GAME INFORMATION
Sacred Heart 49, Bryant 48
Records: Bryant 4-11 (2-2), Sacred Heart 8-7 (4-0)
Location: Pitt Center (Fairfield, Conn.)

COACH BURKE COMMENTS

"I thought it was a real tough game offensively for our offensive rhythm and getting anything off the break. We really struggled on the offensive end, but with that being said, I thought defensively we did a good job against Sacred Heart. They are one of the highest offensive scoring teams in the league and our defense is what kept us in the game. It was just hard offense today which made it very difficult to win on the road."

KEY MOMENT

• Bryant was scoreless for the first five and a half minutes of play which led to a 7-0 run by Sacred Heart to take the lead.
• Contributing to a 7-0 run for Bryant, Boyce sank a three from the wing in the third quarter to give Bryant its first lead of the game, 30-29.
• After Sacred Heart regained the lead, Masey Zegarowski (Hilton, Mass.) and Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) both sank threes in the fourth quarter to give Bryant the lead. Connor's three came with 19 seconds to go in the game as the Bulldogs led 48-47.
• Katherine Haines got fouled fighting for a rebound and hit both shots at the foul line to win the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• 6:13 marked the first basket scored of the game as Sacred Heart's Olivia Dabney drove to the basket for two.
• Senior Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) knocked down the first Bulldog basket with a three to end the Pioneer's 7-0 run as the first quarter ended with low score of 13-9 in Sacred Heart's favor.
• The Pioneers scored the first four points of the second quarter and left Bryant scoreless until the 5:39 mark when Scanlan grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a jumper in the paint to kick start Bryant's offense.
• The next play down, red-shirt senior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) drew an offensive foul to give Bryant the possession. Junior Stephanie Lesko (Rumson, N.J.) converted the possession by sinking a three-point shot to put the Bulldogs within three with 3:36 to go in the first half. Sacred Heart went on to grow its lead finishing the half, 25-29.
• In the second half, Ashley rebounded and put back her own shot to start a 7-0 run for the Black and Gold. During the run, Boyce knocked down a three to give Bryant its first lead of the game, 30-29.
• The third quarter then brought four different lead changes as Bryant trailed by just two going into the fourth quarter, 36-34.
• Coming out of a timeout, with 3:51 left to go in the game, Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) found Masey Zegarowski in the corner for a knockdown three to give the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the game, 45-43.
• Sacred Heart then hits two straight layups to regain the lead until Connors was left alone in the corner for another knockdown three for the Bulldogs with just 19 seconds to go.
• With Bryant leading 48-47, Sacred Heart's Katherine Haines gets fouled fighting for a rebound and hits both free throws for the win.

STATS

• Scanlan led with 12 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine.
• Boyce tallied nine points shooting 2-of-5 from the field knocking down her only attempted three-pointer.
• Ashley trailed closely behind Scanlan grabbing eight rebounds and was the team's third leading scorer with six.
• Palmer led in both steals and assists compiling three per category. The senior point guard finished the game with four points.
• Lesko and Holloway each scored five apiece.
• Bryant shot 18-of-66 from the field while Sacred Heart was 19-of-56.
• The Bulldogs were outrebounded for the first time in conference play, 45-41.

GAME NOTES

• The last time Bryant was in a game where both teams scored less than 50 points was January 30, 2017 when Bryant took down Fairleigh Dickinson, 50-48.
• Bryant held Sacred Heart well below its scoring average as the Pioneers averaged 63 points a night going into tonight's game.
• Holloway surpasses former Bulldog Danielle Douglas in Bryant's Division I leading scorers, as she is now fourth all-time with 1,056 points.
• The Bulldogs fall to 6-16 all-time against the Pioneers.
• Boyce's nine points is a career-high against Northeast Conference teams.
• Scanlan records a season-high with nine rebounds.   

UP NEXT: ROBERT MORRIS
The Bulldogs resume play in Smithfield hosting Robert Morris for a 1 p.m. tip on Saturday, January 18.