January 15, 2008

BULLDOGS (11-5, 6-5 NE-10) LOOK TO SNAP LOSING SKID AGAINST SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE (7-8, 4-7) AT HOME WEDNESDAY NIGHT

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BRYANT UPDATE
THE GAME                                                           
The Bryant women's basketball team returns home on  January 16 after a tough series of outings to take on Southern New Hampshire in the teams' final meeting of the regular season at 5:30 p.m. Bryant is 8-2 at home this year, and beat the Penmen back on December 8 in Manchester, NH, 61-46. Bryant fell off the national polls for the first time since December 18, 2007 after suffering its first losing streak of the season.

LAST TIME OUT                                                   
Pace University stiffled Bryant's second-half comeback attempt in Pleasantville, NY to hand the Bulldogs their third-straight loss and first losing skid of the season, despite shooting over 50 percent from the field. Kelsey O'Keefe notched a game-best 25 points while Cara Johnson earned her second double-double of the year (14 pts, 10 rebs).

PENNING THE HISTORY                                                 
The Bulldogs and the Penmen have met 30 times in program history, spanning back to Southern New Hampshire's days as New Hampshire College. Bryant holds a decisive 21-9 (.700) advantage over Southern New Hampshire and have already topped the Penmen once this season. Bryant went 1-1 against SNHU last season, losing at the Chace Athletic Center, 76-70.

SCOUTING SNHU                                                 
The Penmen come to Smithfield after losing to No. 14 Franklin Pierce on January 12, 88-60. Julia Houghtaling's double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Megan Shay's 14 points weren't enough to undo the Ravens and sophomore Johannah Leedham, who hit eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points. Houghtaling's 11.5 points per game pace the Penmen, while Sara Tucker's 6-1 boards per game lead SNHU on the glass.

HOME SWEET HOME                                           
The Chace Athletic Center has been kind to the Bulldog women this year, as they have posted a 8-2 record on their home court. Bryant's losses as the home team came on Nov. 25, a 65-54 loss to Franklin Pierce, and Jan. 8, a 58-48 fall to Assumption. The Bulldogs are averaging 63-9 points per game at home, vastly outscoring their opponents (52.4 ppg).

TOPPING THE TOP DOGS                                     
The Bulldogs have been trouble for ranked teams in 2007-08. Bryant is 2-0 against top-25 squads, posting wins over then-No. 21 Bentley College, 56-55, on Dec. 4 and then-No. 15 Stonehill College,  59-53, on Dec. 12. A last-second bucket in the paint from senior captain Lynne-Ann Kokoski toppled the rival Falcons, while 17 points from sophomore Kelsey O'Keefe -- 12 in second-half play -- and four blocks from rookie Siamone Bennett lifted the Bulldogs over Stonehill and handed the Skyhawks their first loss of the season. The top-25 wins were No. 2 and No. 4 in Bryant's nine-game streak.

GOING STREAKING                                              
Despite seeing their winning streak end on the road against the College of Saint Rose Jan. 5, the 2007-08 Bulldogs secured their place in the Bryant Recordbooks, defeating nine-straight opponents from Dec. 1, 2007 through Jan. 2, 2008 and stringing together the program's longest run of consecutive wins in school history. The record-making ninth victory came on Wed., Jan. 2, when the Bulldogs beat Merrimack College, 69-55, at the Chace Athletic Center to grab the top spot for consecutive wins in a season.

BRYANT HOLIDAY CLASSIC RECAP                       
The Bulldogs closed out 2007 in their annual Bryant Holiday Classic, held at the Chace Athletic Center, Dec. 28 and 29. The hosts went 2-0 in the two-day tournament with wins over the East Coast Conference's New York Tech (69-45) and the Coastal Atlantic Collegiate Conference's Caldwell College (74-55). The Bryant men also went 2-0 in the Bryant Holiday Classic, recording wins over Post University and Philadelphia University.

CROSSING ENEMY LINES                                     
With their non-conference schedule now behind them, the Bulldogs boast a perfect 5-0 record in games outside the Northeast-10. Bryant took four home wins and one on the road, and topped a trio of East Coast Conference teams (Adelphi University, the University of Bridgeport and New York Tech) and two Coastal Atlantic Collegiate Conference squads (Post University and Caldwell College). O'Keefe in particular thrived off non-league play, averaging 20.4 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting .578 from the field including 8-of-19 from 3-point land.

HONOR ROLL CALL                                              
O'Keefe leads the team with five appearances on the Northeast-10 Conference Weekly Honor Roll, with junior Cara Johnson close behind with three. Kokoski and sophomore Courtney Schermerhorn have also each been named to the Honor Roll this season.

O'KEEFE ON FIRE                       
In just her second season as a Bulldog, Kelsey O'Keefe has already cracked the top-10 in career points (7th/670), field goals made (8th/240), 3-pointers made (5th/48), 3-pointers attempted (5th/170) and blocked shots (6th/33). Her current numbers rank her in the top-10 in scoring average (2nd/14.6 ppg), field goal percentage (2nd/.476) and rebounding average (3rd/6.8).

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN        
Senior Lynne-Ann Kokoski notched the rare triple-double on December 19 against the University of Bridgeport, scoring 13 points, dishing out 11 assists and collecting 10 rebounds. In the Bryant women's basketball record books, senior captain Lynne-Ann Kokoski sits at No. 4 in all-time assists with 269 and No. 7 in steals with 119. Kokoski has played 2221 total minutes for the Bulldogs (No. 8) and her 176 made free throws rank her seventh all-time.

RECORD SETTERS                      
Multiple Bulldogs have set single-game records or made the top 5 in 2007-08. O'Keefe grabbed two top spots against Adelphi on Nov. 15, and the sophomore now owns the No. 1 spot for points in a single game (33) and field goals made (13). She is also tied for most rebounds in a single game (15), set against Caldwell College in the Bryant Holiday Classic on Dec. 29. Kokoski took hold of her own top spot with her 11 helpers in a triple-double effort against Bridgeport, tying her for No. 1 all-time in assists in a single game, while freshman Siamone Bennett's four blocks against Stonehill ties her at No. 1 for blocks in a single game.

The team has set some records as well, and in the first two contests of the season stole the No. 1 spot for free throws made (31) and attempted (43) in a single game (vs. Saint Anselm, 11/20/07) and are No. 2 for single-contest field goal percentage at a .575 clip (23-of-40) against Adelphi, Nov. 15.

MAPPING IT OUT                      
Despite its home in Smithfield, RI, Bryant boasts no homegrown talent on its 2007-08 roster. Instead, the Bulldogs hail from four different states, with six players coming to Douglas Pike from Massachusetts and eight from the tri-state area. The Bay Staters make up much of the sophomore class (Schermerhorn, O'Keefe, Campbell, Mayshar) and add Kokoski and Fontaine, while five (Lewis, Bennett, Mraz, Johnson, Dessingue) call New York home. The remainder of the Bryant roster come from Connecticut (Pierlioni, Reynolds) and New Jersey (Hudspeth).

UP NEXT                                                              
Bryant travels to Syracuse, NY to face Le Moyne on Sat., Jan. 19 at 1 p.m.

BULLDOGS ON THE AIR                                       
Fans can catch all of the action this year by tuning into www.bryantbulldogs.com with Pat Sullivan and Jared Hager calling all of the action at no cost to the listener. For the second-straight year, fans can also watch selected games through www.NE10.tv at a cost of $6.99 per game. Also this year, track each game live online for free with LIVE STATS by visiting www.bryantbulldogs.com and clicking the Live Stats link.

BRYANT JOINS THE DIVISION I NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
In October, Bryant University officially accepted an invitation to join the Division I Northeast Conference. The school will begin a four-year transition and become a full member of the Northeast Conference in the fall of 2012. This will be Bryant's final season as a member of the Division II ranks, and the Bulldogs will begin a Division I schedule in 2008-09. Bryant will not be eligible for conference or NCAA postseason play during the four-year transition period. Other members of the Northeast Conference include: Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, Lond Island University, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), St. Francis (PA) and Wagner College.