Bryant University Bulldogs Women's Basketball Aims for Third Straight Win Saturday vs. UMass Lowell

BRYANT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs. UMass Lowell

January 24, 2007

Today's Game
The Bryant University Bulldogs take on the UMass Lowell Riverhawks today at the Chace Center. Bryant defeated the Riverhawks 68-48 earlier this season in Lowell, Mass.

Radio

The game can be heard live at http://www.bryantbulldogs.com/ with Jared Hager and SJ Turnblom calling of all the action.

COMING UP...
The Bulldogs will visit Saint Anselm Wednesday before hosting rival Bentley Saturday
Wed. - Jan. 31 - at Saint Anselm, 5:30 p.m.
Sat. - Feb. 3 - Bentley, 1:30 p.m.

Game Notes
The Bryant Women's Basketball team cruised to its second straight victory, 68-48 over Le Moyne College Saturday afternoon at the Chace Center.

Senior captain Joanna Skiba (Providence, RI) and freshman Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) led the way for the Bulldogs scoring 17 points each. O'Keefe posted a double-double as she pulled down 13 rebounds while finishing with a career-high five steals.

The Bulldogs entered the second leading 38-25 and put the game away with a 10-0 run to start the half. O'Keefe scored off her own offensive board, and then freshman Courtney Schermerhorn (Lowell, Mass.) came up with a steal and got it to Lynne-Ann Kokoski (Hatfield, Mass.) who scored the fast-break lay-up and converted the three-point play following the foul.

Skiba would end the run with a fast-break lay-in of her own, with Kokoski notching the assist to give her team the 48-25 lead

Bryant forced 28 Dolphin turnovers and scored 37 points off those Le Moyne errors.
Skiba finished the week averaging 24 points in two games while being named the Northeast-10 Player of the Week. She came off the bench in both contests and injected the Bulldogs with instant energy.

O'Keefe captured Co-Freshman of the Week honors for the second time in three weeks.

Earlier this season, Skiba scored 14 points and Lauren Rubenoff (New Hartford, Conn.) and Erin Murphy (Albany, NY) each added 12 points to help lead the Bulldogs to their fifth win in six games, 68-48 over the Riverhawks. The Bulldogs held UMass Lowell without a field goal in the first 12 minutes in racing out to a quick 14-2 lead.

BRYANT RANKED 9TH IN REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Bulldogs debuted in ninth place in the inaugural edition of the Div. II Regional Rankings. The top-eight teams will qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Unbeaten Southern Connecticut topped the rankings, while Stonehill (2), Saint Rose (4), AIC (5), Bentley (6), Franklin Pierce (7) and Pace (8) also were ranked in the top-eight from the Northeast-10. Bryant last qualified for the NCAA Tourney in 2004.

SKIBA NORTHEAST-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK;
MOVES INTO 9TH ON ALL-TIME SCORING LIST
With her career-high 31 points at Southern N.H., senior guard Joanna Skiba (Providence, RI) jumped from 11th to ninth-place all-time on the Bryant scoring list. Skiba, who reached 1,000 points earlier this season against Assumption, came off the bench to lead the Bulldogs to a big road win over the Penmen. Her big week resulted in the Bryant guard being named the Northeast-10 Player of the Week from Jan. 15-21. Skiba now has 1,207 career-points and is 60 behind Sue Crisafi, who is eighth on the all-time list.

O'KEEFE PICKING UP POINTS AND AWARDS IN 2007
Freshman Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) has picked up her scoring in the new year. In Bryant's seven games in 2007, O'Keefe leads her team in scoring and rebounding (18.3 points, 8.3 rebounds). She 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. She was also selected as the Co-Freshman of the Week from Jan. 15-21. O'Keefe averaged 24.5 points last week in victories at Merrimack and Saint Rose. She continued her success tallying 25 points and eight rebounds against #13 Stonehill on Jan. 13 and then posted a double-double (17 points, 13 boards) while getting a career-high five steals in a 68-48 win against Le Moyne on Jan. 20.

BRYANT 6-2 WITH LYNNE-ANN MANNING THE POINT
Following a dissapointing 65-50 loss at Barry Univ., Head Coach Mary Burke revamped the starting five as 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 6-2 when the junior starts. She matched her career high in assists with seven in wins over Le Moyne, Saint Rose and Southern N.H. Against #13 Stonehill, she tallied ten points and matched her career high with eight boards.

RUBENOFF A FORCE ON THE ROAD
Senior forward Lauren Rubenoff (New Hartford, CT) has become a force away from Smithfield this season. She is averging a team-leading 14.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in eight road games. She posted double-double's in victories at Assumption and Merrimack and 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.

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, is second on the team averagign 12.4 points per game and a team-best 6.5 boards. Mraz has started eight games, averaging four points. Schermerhorn started Bryant's first four games and seven overall, 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.