SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) scored a team-high
11 points, but the Monmouth University women's basketball team fell at Bryant,
55-49, Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center. The loss snaps Monmouth's
eight-game winning streak, and the Hawks fall to 11-9 (6-3 NEC). The Bulldogs
improve to 12-8 (5-4 NEC).
Betsy Gadziala (Whitesboro,
N.Y./Whitesboro) added eight points and a team-high six rebounds, while Gabby
Singer (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) also had eight points.
Naana Ankoma-Mensah led
Bryant with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Danielle Douglas added 11
points. Brittany Stahura had eight points and a game-high 16 rebounds, while
Meredith Soper chipped in seven points and 14 rebounds.
A sloppy first
half that saw a combined 27 turnovers (14 Monmouth, 13 Bryant) ended with
Bryant leading, 27-20. The Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-2 advantage, before
Monmouth responded with a 7-0 run to take a 9-8 lead on Gadziala's bucket at
the 13:07 mark. With the game tied at 14-14, Bryant reeled off 11 of the next
13 points to take a 25-16 lead. The Hawks cut the deficit to seven at the half
on the strength of a pair of Womack buckets. The difference in the first half
was 9-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line for Bryant, while the Hawks were
not awarded a chance from the charity stripe.
The Hawks twice
cut the deficit to two points late in the second half, but it wasn't enough to
get over the hump. Chevannah Paalvast's (Auckland, New Zealand/Massey) bucket
while being fouled made it 39-37 with 7:53 remaining. But the following free
throw drew iron. At the 1:22 mark, Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme)
knocked down a three-pointer to make it 47-45. But Soper scored a bucket from
close range on the next possession and Bryant padded the advantage from the free-throw
line down the stretch.
For the game, the
Hawks and Bulldogs each shot 28.8 percent (17-59) from the floor. The Hawks
shot 21.1 percent (4-19) from long range to Bryant's 7.7 percent (1-13). The
difference in the game came from the free-throw line, where the teams shot a
similar percentage, but Bryant had 12 more attempts. The Bulldogs connected at
74.1 percent (20-27) to the Hawks' 73.3 percent (11-15). Bryant also took a
53-39 advantage on the boards, but MU took a 21-12 edge on second-chance
points.
The Hawks return
to NEC action Monday afternoon, when they face Central Connecticut. Opening tip
from Detrick Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m.
