BRYANT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SELECTED TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS; TO PLAY STONEHILL FRIDAY AT 1 P.M.
Women Open Regional Play vs. Stonehill Friday in Philadelphia, PA Game Day Notes (pdf)
/ Watch Live Broadcast / Live Stats / Regional Website
|
|
|
|
|
It is not just senior captain |
PHILADELPHIA -- The Bryant University women's basketball team makes its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and first since the 2005 postseason this weekend when the Bulldogs travel to Philadelphia, Pa. for the 2008 Northeast Regional, hosted by top-seeded and nati onally No. 4-ranked Holy Family University.
Bryant (20-11) enters the eight-team regional as the No. 7 seed and will faceoff against No. 2 seed Stonehill College (26-4) Friday in the tournament's first-round action. Tipoff is 1 p.m.
The winner will face the winner of the No. 2 Franklin
Pierce and No. 6 Dominican game in the second round, Saturday at 6 p.m. The
Regional Championship is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. EST, while the Northeast Regional champion will advance to the NCAA Elite Eight in Kearney, Neb., March 26-29 for the Division II Championship.
For stories, scores and updates on all seven Northeast Regional games, check out Holy Family's 2008 NCAA Regional website here.
The 2008 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Northeast Regional will be webcast on CACC.TV. There will be a limit to the number of viewers permitted to watch the games, so fans planning to watch are encouraged to sign up early. There will be no charge to view the games.
To gain access to CACC.TV, log on to http://www.cacc.tv/.
NCAA Division II Women's Northeast Regional
March 14-17 @ Philadelphia, PA
Friday, March 14
No. 2 Stonehill (26-4) vs. No. 7 Bryant (20-11), 1
p.m.
No. 3 Franklin Pierce (24-5) vs. No. 6 Dominican (22-8), 3
p.m.
No. 1 Holy Family (30-0) vs. No. 8 Molloy (19-11), 6 p.m.
No. 4 Bentley (19-10) vs. No. 5 Assumption (21-9), 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 15
Franklin Pierce/Dominican winner vs. Stonehill/Bryant
winner, 6 p.m.
Holy Family/Molloy winner vs. Bentley/Assumption winner,
8 p.m.
Monday, March 17
Regional Championship, 7 p.m.
Seeds
1. Holy Family (30-0)
2. Stonehill (26-4)
3. Franklin Pierce (24-5)
4. Bentley (19-10)
5. Assumption (21-9)
6. Dominican (22-8)
7. BRYANT (20-11)
8. Molloy (19-11)
BRYANT UPDATE
THE
GAME
The seventh-seeded Bryant women (20-11) will face second-seeded
Stonehill College (26-4) in the first round of the NCAA Northeast
Regional Tournament this Friday in Philadelphia, Pa. The
first-round contest will be a rematch of Sunday afternoon's
Northeast-10 Conference Championship - won by the Skyhawks, 90-79 -
only this time will be on neutral ground.
This is the seventh NCAA Tournament appearance for the Bryant women's basketball program and its first since the 2005 postseason. The Bulldogs first appeared in the national tournament in 1986, and Friday's opening-round game marks the fourth trip to the dance for head coach Mary Burke.
Bryant earned its spot in the 2008 NCAA Tournament with its run as the six seed through the NE-10 Tournament, where the Bulldogs finally fell in the championship game. Today's winner will continue on to face the winner of No. 3 Franklin Pierce/No. 6 Dominican, Saturday at 6 p.m.
BULLDOGS AND SKYHAWKS MEET FOR FOURTH TIME
Today's game marks the fourth meeting between the
Bulldogs and the Skyhawks in the 2007-08 season and is the third
time the teams have faced off in less than a month. Bryant is 1-2
against Stonehill on the year entering Friday's matchup, with its
lone win coming at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, RI on
Dec. 12 to hand the then-No. 15 Skyhawks their first loss of the
season.
In their most recent bout, then-nationally No. 10-ranked and top-seeded Stonehill cut Bryant's underdog run short in the NE-10 Tournament Championship, winning in Easton, Mass., 90-79. Sophomore Kelsey O'Keefe scored a game-high 27 points in just 25 minutes despite the loss, while freshman Siamone Bennett (10 points, game-high 8 rebounds) and junior Cara Johnson (17 points, 5 rebounds) each chipped in double-digit scoring of their own. Senior captain Lynne-Ann Kokoski averaged 9.25 assists per game over the four-game tournament, topping out against the Skyhawks with a game- and career-high 12 helpers.
UP
NEXT
The winner of this afternoon's game will continue on
to face the winner of today's 3 p.m. game between No. 6 Franklin
Pierce (24-5) and No. 7 Dominican (22-8), Saturday at 6 p.m. The
full women's 64-team bracket can be seen at http://www.ncaasports.com/.
BRYANT IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
This is the seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament for
Bulldog women's basketball. Bryant is 2-6 all-time in the dance and
is 2-3 under coach Mary Burke.
Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament
1986: vs. North Dakota
State
Loss, 81-63
1988: vs. Delta
State Loss,
98-65
1989: vs. New
Haven
Loss, 94-71
1996: vs. University of
Bridgeport
Loss, 82-79
2004: vs.
Bentley Win,
70-65
vs.
Stonehill
Win, 70-58
vs. Merrimack
Loss, 70-57
2005:
vs.
Bentley
Loss, 67-56
NCAA EXPERIENCE
With only one senior in its ranks, Bryant enters the
tournament with little experience on the national stage. Senior
captain Lynne-Ann Kokoski was a freshman on the 2004-05 Bulldog
team that fell to rival Bentley College, 67-56, in the NCAA first
round.
ALL CONFERENCE
Sophomore leading-scorer Kelsey
O'Keefe was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Second
Team, as announced by the league after Sunday's championship bout.
This is the second conference honor of the forward's career, as
O'Keefe was named to the All-Rookie Team in the 2006-07 season.
NE-10 TOURNAMENT RECAP
The six seed in the league tournament, Bryant stormed
through the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament, taking down a trio
of teams - including the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds - to reach the
championship game for the first time since the 1988-89 postseason.
The Bulldogs opened postseason play at home in the Chace Athletic Center, taking a 73-60 win over No. 11 Saint Michael's in the NE-10 Tournament First Round, Sunday, March 2. Kelsey O'Keefe scored 23 points and grabbed seven boards to lead Bryant, while Cara Johnson chipped in 22 points and eight rebounds in the win.
But that was the last time Bryant would be favored in the tournament. Their First Round win earned the Bulldogs a trip to the quarterfinals, where they faced off against a tough third-seeded Assumption College squad on the road in Worcester, Mass. Despite entering the contest 0-2 against the Greyhounds in regular-season play, Bryant stunned the home team the following Tuesday, March 4, with a 64-58 win on the back of O'Keefe's eighth double-double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds).
From there, the Bulldogs traveled to Rindge, N.H. to match up against two-seed Franklin Pierce University in Bryant's first NE-10 Semifinal game since the 1995-96 season. The Bulldogs again entered the game 0-2 on the year against the Ravens, but again they refused to be stopped. Bryant upset the nationally ranked No. 17 Ravens, Friday, March 7 with a 78-65 road victory, punching its ticket to the final. O'Keefe notched her ninth double-double in the win (20 points, 10 rebounds), while Johnson added a team-high 21 points.
But in the NE-10 Championship, despite continued strong play from O'Keefe and Johnson (27 and 17 points, respectively), the Bulldogs finally fell, 90-79, to top-seeded Stonehill College, setting up today's rematch.
SCOUTING
STONEHILL
The Skyhawks finished on top of the NE-10 conference
ladder, and played their way to the tournament title with wins over
Southern Connecticut, Bentley and Bryant, in the championship.
Stonehill boasts the conference's Coach of the Year in seventh-year head coach Trisha Brown, as well as All-Conference First-Teamer, center Kelsey Simonds (team-leading 16.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg). Point guard Erika Stupinski (9.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg) earned Second Team honors while freshman Kristen McWhirter (6.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg) was named to the All-Rookie team.
WINNING BIG
Entering the NCAA Regional with a 20-11 overall
record, the Bulldogs achieved the 20-win mark for just the second
time in coach Mary Burke's career and just the fifth time in
program history. The last 20+-win season came in 2003-04, when
Bryant went 22-9 and advanced to the NCAA Regional Final against
host Merrimack College.
Burke is also approaching another coaching milestone - she is just four wins away from her 250th victory with a current overall record of 246-233.
BRYANT vs. NCAA FIELD
The Bulldogs are 4-7 against the NCAA Northeast
Regional field this season:
vs. Holy
Family
DNP
vs. Stonehill
(1-2) 59-53
W; 87-75 L; 90-79 L
vs. Franklin Pierce
(1-2)
65-54 L; 65-56 L; 78-65 W
vs. Bentley
(1-1)
56-55 W; 59-58 L
vs. Assumption
(1-2)
79-49 L; 58-48 L; 64-58 W
vs.
Dominican
DNP
vs.
Molloy DNP
STATS vs. NCAA FIELD
Bryant averaged 61.5 points per game against the NCAA
field during the 2007-08 regular- and postseason, allowing NCAA
opponents to score 66.7 points per contest. Rebounding is a near
wash, with Bryant leading, 39.9 to 29.3 per game, while O'Keefe
leads the Bulldogs with 12.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest.
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 Record books, 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.
HOME SWEET
HOME
The Chace Athletic Center has been kind to the Bulldog women this
year, as they closed out their 2007-08 home schedule with Sunday's
NE-10 Tournament First Round win with a 12-4 record on their home
court. The Bulldogs averaged 66.9 points per game at home on the
year, vastly outscoring their opponents (56.1 ppg).
CROSSING ENEMY
LINES
The Bulldogs boast a perfect 5-0 record in games outside the
Northeast-10 Conference for the 2007-08 regular season. Bryant took
four home wins and another victory 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.
Bryant could face a new CACC team in Dominican if both the lower seeds win Friday's morning session.
HONOR ROLL
CALL
O'Keefe leads the team with eleven appearances on the
NE-10 Weekly Honor Roll, including being named Player of the Week
on March 3. Johnson and Kokoski each have four honor roll
nominations while sophomore Courtney Schermerhorn
has also earned an appearance. Bennett also debuted in last week's
honors, earning Freshman of the Week.
O'KEEFE ON
FIRE
In just her second season as a Bulldog, Kelsey
O'Keefe has already cracked the top-10 in career points (6th/900),
field goals made (7th/322), 3-pointers made (4th/67), 3-pointers
attempted (5th/231) and blocked shots (5th/47). Her current numbers
rank her in the top-10 in scoring average (2nd/14.8 ppg), field
goal percentage (3rd/.459) and rebounding average (3rd/7.1).
O'Keefe has set the bar in a number of single season categories with her numbers this year as well, including being No. 1 in: points in a season (495), field goals made in a season (175) and rebounds in a season (233). She is also tied with current rookie Siamone Bennett for third in blocks in a single season (28).
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 record books, senior captain Lynne-Ann
Kokoski sits at No. 2 in all-time assists (378) and is tied for No.
5 in steals (159). She has played 2771 total minutes for the
Bulldogs (No. 5) and her 236 made free throws are sixth all-time.
Kokoski, too, owns some single season records. The senior is tops in assists in a season (206) and minutes played in a season (1110), and is currently tied for No. 3 in steals in a season (70).
Kokoski's ability to dish out helpers puts her in the top of the Division II national ladder. She is currently No. 6 nationwide in assists per game with 6.6 and No. 18 in assist/turnover ratio with 2.04.
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, grabbing the No. 1 spot for points in a single game (33) and field goals made (13). She is No. 2 in field percentage in a single game (.750; 9-for-12) and is also tied for most rebounds in a single game (15), set against Caldwell College on Dec. 29.
Kokoski took hold the two top spots for assists in a single game, dishing out 12 helpers in the conference championship against Stonehill. Before that game, Kokoski still owned the top spot with the 11 helpers she recorded twice this season - once in a triple-double effort against Bridgeport and again versus Saint Anselm.
Freshman Siamone Bennett's four blocks against Stonehill, and again against Merrimack to end the regular season, ties her at No. 1 for blocks in a single game, while her .889 (8-9) shooting Feb. 9 against AIC is tops for field goal percentage in a single game and her 15 rebounds in the same contest also tie her for No. 1 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 comes from Connecticut (Pierlioni,
Reynolds) and New Jersey (Hudspeth).
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
NEC 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 NEC include: Central Connecticut,
Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island University, Monmouth, Mount St.
Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY),
St. Francis (PA) and Wagner.
