Bryant University Bulldogs Women's Hoops Looks to Rebound Against #13 Stonehill Saturday

BRYANT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs #13 Stonehill

January 13, 2007

Today's Game
The Bryant University Bulldogs take on the 13th ranked Stonehill Skyhawks at the Chace Center today. Bryant blew a ten-point halftime lead en route to a 66-56 loss at Stonehill earlier this season.

Game Notes
The Bryant Women's Basketball team snapped a four-game winning streak, at the hands of Pace University 75-64 Thursday night at the Chace Center.

The Bulldogs fell behind early, trailing 49-29 at the half, as the Setters shot an incredible 10-for-13 from behind the arc in the first half.

Bryant made a valiant comeback, shrinking the lead to as few as six when Kristin Mraz (Johnstown, NY) took a Joanna Skiba (Providence, RI) pass off a turnover and banked it home and was fouled. Mraz converted the foul shot, and the Bulldogs trailed by only six at 61-55, with 6:12 to play after the 8-0 run that included a three-pointer from Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) and a jumper from Stephanie Fontaine (Franklin, Mass.).

But following a Pace timeout, Stephanie Klingele sank two straight jumpers, one from outside the arc to put the game away for the Setters. Nine different Bulldogs played over ten minutes and 12 played over five in the contest.

Lauren Rubenoff (New Hartford, CT), Skiba, and O'Keefe led Bryant with ten points each, while Adrianne Mayshar (West Boylston, Mass.) and O'Keefe each grabbed six boards.

Earlier this season at Stonehill, turnovers doomed the Bulldogs as they turned the ball over 13 times in the second half. Rubenoff scored 14 of Bryant's 19 second-half points, finishing with 20 in the game.

The Bulldogs led by as much as 18 in the first half, but freshman Megan Methuen was the one thorn in Bryant's side in the first half as the freshman guard drained five first-half three pointers, including four straight to end the half.

The Skyhawks of Stonehill
Alisha Collins scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds as 13th-ranked Stonehill extended its winning streak to seven straight with a 75-54 win over Merrimack. Caitlin Kennedy added 11 points and five boards for the winners, who also received ten points from Megan Methuen. Bethany Tighe tallied eight points, who also a career-high nine rebounds from junior Daryl Cioffi.

COMING UP...
The Bulldogs will head to Southern N.H. for a rematch with the Penmen and will return home Saturday to take on Le Moyne.
Wed. - Jan. 17 - at Southern New Hampshire 5:30 p.m.
Sat. - Jan. 20 - Le Moyne, 1:30 p.m.
Sat. - Jan. 27 - UMass Lowell, 1:30 p.m.

RUBENOFF A FORCE ON THE ROAD
In Bryant's last four conference road games, senior forward Lauren Rubenoff (New Hartford, CT) has been a force. At Assumption Tuesday, she posted a double-double, tallying 18 points and ten boards, including ten of her team's first 18 points. Then against Merrimack on Jan. 3, she posted another double-double (19 points, ten rebounds). She scored 22 points, including 14 of Bryant's 19 second-half points, while grabbing five rebounds and shooting 10-for-18 from the field against Stonehill Wednesday. At Bentley on Dec. 5, "Ru" was the only Bulldog in double figures, scoring a career-high 23 points in a 62-60 loss to the Falcons. She averages a team-leading 16.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in seven road games.

O'KEEFE NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) capped off a great week by being selected as the NE-10 Co-Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week from Jan. 1-7. O'Keefe averaged 24.5 points last week in victories at Merrimack and Saint Rose. She tallied a career-high 26 points in just 26 minutes, shooting 9-12 from the field and 8-10 from the line, while grabbing nine rebounds at Merrimack. Against Saint Rose, she scored 23 points in just 20 minutes, while adding 12 boards for her second career double-double. O'Keefe scored ten points in the game's first four minutes, but sat out the remaining 16 minutes due to foul trouble. She is third on the Bulldogs, averaging 11.1 points while grabbing six boards on average, second on the team.

BRYANT 4-1 WITH LYNNE-ANN MANNING THE POINT
Following a dissapointing 65-50 loss at Barry Univ., Head Coach Mary Burke revamped the starting five. Only Erin Murphy (Albany, NY) remained from her traditional lineup. The change worked as Lynne-Ann Kokoski (Hatfield, Mass.) made her first start, scoring 11 points in 34 minutes while tallying a career-high seven assists leading the Bulldogs to a 65-50 victory over Nova SE. The Bulldogs returned to their normal lineup the following week, but Kokoski remained in the starting five, manning the point. The Bulldogs are 4-1 when the junior starts. In 34 minutes against Saint Rose, she tallied eight points while matching her career high with seven assists.

SKIBA REACHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Bryant senior guard Joanna Skiba (Providence, RI) became the 16th women's basketball player in school history to record her 1,000th point as the Bulldogs picked up a win over Assumption, 80-76 on Nov. 30. Skiba scored on a drive to the basket just over a minute into the game, scoring and drawing a foul in the process. Skiba would finish with a game-high 22 points in 40 minutes of action against the Greyhounds. Skiba ranks 11th on the all-time Bryant scoring list with 1,153 career points.

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
Head Coach Mary Burke is relying on numerous freshmen this season to have a major impact. Four freshmen have already cracked the starting lineup, including Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.), Kristin Mraz (Johnstown, N.Y.), Adrianne Mayshar (West Boylston, Mass.) and Courtney Schermerhorn (Lowell, Mass.). O'Keefe, who has started all but two games this season, avergaes 11 points per game and six boards. She was named NE-10 Freshman of the Week from Jan. 1-7. Mraz has started eight games, averaging four points. Schermerhorn started Bryant's first four games, while Mayshar, Bryant's tallest player at 6-2, snagged nine boards at Merrimack and posted eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks off the bench in 29 minutes of action at Bentley. Against #24 Saint Rose, Burke called on freshman center Jamie Campbell (Springfield, Mass.) who responded with career highs in points (eight) and rebounds (ten) in 15 minutes.