Merrimack outlasts Bryant on President's Day

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball team fell to Merrimack, 61-53, on Monday afternoon.

Senior Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W.Va.) led with a game-high 22 points to tie her season-best, followed by junior Brooke Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) with 13 points.

GAME INFORMATION
Merrimack 61, Bryant 53
Records: Bryant (8-16), Merrimack (17-8, 10-4)
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)

KEY MOMENT

• Bryant made a third-quarter push to take the lead, but it was short-lived once Merrimack hit back-to-back three's to take back the lead and hold it for the remainder of the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bryant threw the first punch to start the game by jumping to a quick 4-0 lead thanks to a pair of foul line jumpers from both Masey Zegarowski (Hamilton, Mass.) and Trinity Bravo (Bridgeport, Conn.).
• Merrimack responded with a quick three from Kate Mager and from there the two teams fought back and forth until the end of the first quarter. The Warrior led with a three-point advantage, 16-13.
• Merrimack outscored the Bulldogs, 8-2, to start the second quarter as they grew to its biggest lead of the half, 24-15.
• The Warrior would get one more basket before a Bjelko free-throw kickstarted a 6-0 run for the Black and Gold to pull within three. Merrimack was able to get one more to fall just before the halftime break to make it a five-point game at the end of the first half, 28-23.
• Bjelko helped Bryant tie the game at 33 apiece with 5:16 left in the third quarter. The junior scored six-straight to even the score as she posted ten points in the third quarter alone. Zegarowski piggy-backed off Bjelko to take the lead in the very next possession with a pull-up jumper from the foul line.
• Back-to-back three-pointers from the Warriors gave the advantage back to Merrimack as they closed out the quarter with a six-point cushion 44-38.
• The Bulldogs would get as close as two with 4:04 left in the game off an offensive rebound and the putback from Bjelko, but the Warriors offense deemed too much for the Black and Gold as they held onto their lead, 61-53, to finish the game.

STATS

• Holloway led with 22 points off nine-of-23 shooting and four-of-six from the line. The senior also pulled down eight rebounds and swiped two steals.
• Bjelko trailed Holloway with 13 points off six-of-13 shooting.
• Bravo led with nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.
• Bryant outrebounded Merrimack, 50-34.
• The Bulldogs posted 33.9 percent from the field off 21-of-62 shooting.

GAME NOTES

• Holloway tied her season-high of 22 points.
• The Bulldogs fall to 0-2 against the Warriors in the Division I era but continue to hold the all-time series record, 30-20.  

UP NEXT: St. Francis Brooklyn
The Bulldogs close out the series with St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. in Brooklyn Heights.