February 13, 2009

BULLDOGS FACE CCSU IN 2009 REMATCH, OPEN SATURDAY'S BASKETBALL HOME DOUBLEHEADER AT 1 P.M.

Game Notes / Live Stats / Live Video / Live Radio

THE MATCHUP - BRYANT vs. CCSU
Date: February 14, 2009
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Smithfield, R.I.
Arena: Chace Athletic Center
Series: Bryant leads, 1-0

BRYANT BULLDOGS UPDATE
The Bulldogs return home after a difficult road trip that saw Bryant go 0-for-4, with its most recent loss coming at the hands of Monmouth, 67-49, Monday night. In the contest, junior Kelsey O'Keefe scored a team-high 14 points and was the only Bulldog to score in double digits.

On the year, O'Keefe's 15.6 points per game average paces the Bulldogs, while her 8.4 boards per outing are also a team high. The big forward shoots 75.8 percent from the line - bested only by junior PG Kristin Mraz's 77.8 percent success rate - and shoots a shade under 36 percent from long range (38-for-106). Mraz has handed out a team-best 58 helpers so far this season while sophomore Siamone Bennett has a squad-high 32 blocks. Cara Johnson is the team's second-leading scorer, contributing 9.3 points per game while pulling down 5.0 rebounds per outing.

THE GAME
Saturday's matchup is the second meeting between Bryant and future Northeast Conference opponent Central Connecticut State University this season, with the Bulldogs taking the Blue Devils for a 64-61 loss in New Britain, Conn., back on Nov. 25, 2008.

SCOUTING CCSU (15-8)
Winners of three straight, the Blue Devils have turned around their season from last year, already earning 15 wins this year and clinching a league tournament berth - an achievement they accomplished with their most recent victory, a 70-67 overtime bout against St. Francis (PA).

Kerrianne Dugan leads three CCSU scorers who register double digit point averages, posting 12.1 points per game. Shontice Simmons and Leanne Crockett also average double-figure scoring, with 11.6 ppg and 10.3 ppg, respectively. Crockett also paces the Blue Devils on the glass, pulling down 8.5 boards per contest.Justina Udenze has put down a team-high 30 blocks so far in 2008-09, while Simmons has dished out 80 helpers on the season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bryant University women's basketball team continued its road troubles against Monmouth University, again struggling to find its shot to fall to the Hawks, 67-49, at the Boylan Gym Monday night.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED? BRYANT at MONMOUTH [2/9/09]
The Bulldogs (6-16) had trouble containing the quick offense of the Hawks (12-11, 6-6 NEC) in the opening frame, allowing the home team to jump out to an 11-5 lead after Jennifer Bender completed a 3-point play with 15:52 remaining.

Monmouth would quickly more than double-up the visiting Bulldogs, 18-7, and the scoring would continue as the Hawks went on a 14-4 over a 6:36 stretch mid-frame to make their advantage 22-9 with just over 10 minutes to play.

Monmouth kept their lead double Bryant's tally as the clock ticked under four minutes, 28-14, and while the Bulldogs made up some points at the end of the half - including holding the Hawks to a 4:15 scoreless streak - Bryant took a 36-20 deficit into the locker room at the break.

The Bulldogs shot 25.8 percent from the floor in the session with just eight field goals to the 41.2 percent shooting of the home side.

In the second half, the Bulldogs started out shooting well, hitting 62.5 percent of shots in the first 6:27 for a 52-33 tally, and Bryant continued to get strong takes for a 50 percent success rate with 7:09 remaining (57-37).

But from there, the Bulldogs couldn't make up any ground. Sophomore Lindsey Hudspeth (Mount Laurel, N.J.) hit back-to-back threes to end the game for Bryant, but it wouldn't be nearly enough as the Bulldogs walked away with a 67-49 loss.

Bryant was led by 14 points from junior Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.), who was again the only Bulldog to score in double figures. Sophomore Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) led the way on the boards, collecting six, also recording a game-high three blocks in just 10 minutes of play.

Monmouth saw four players score a double-digit tally, led by 16 points from Bender and LaKia Barber. Bender also added a game-high 10 boards for the only double-double of the contest.

Bryant shot 30.5 percent on the day after a 35.7 percent mark in the second frame. The teams were knotted on the glass, 41-41, while the Hawks shot 38.7 percent for the game.

THE HIGHLIGHTS
O'Keefe continues her strong scoring efforts and the team returns to the safer confines of the Chace Athletic Center for a two-game set.

HOT HANDS HUDSPETH
Sophomore sharpshooter Lindsey Hudspeth has shown a hot hand over the last six games, averaging 8.7 points per game after coming up with only 2.9 in the previous 16 outings. She has matched or recorded new career highs in points (18), rebounds (7), assists (2) and minutes (29) since the end of January and has upped her accuracy to 43.2 percent over the last six contests. She is also 10-for-23 from downtown.

YOU'RE THE TOP
On top of getting onto Bryant's top-10 all-time scorers list, O'Keefe is in the top five of three other career statistical categories. The junior forward is second all-time in made field goals (459), fourth all-time in rebounds (628) and fifth all-time in 3-point field goals made (107). Sophomore Siamone Bennett also made a career top-5 list after just under two years of play, her 60 blocks coming in at No. 5 all-time.

FEELING HOT HOT HOT
Despite closing January with a 2-6 record, the Bulldogs can thank juniors Kristin Mraz and Kelsey O'Keefe for keeping the games close over the 30-day period. Mraz, a junior guard, caught fire in the month's early games, averaging a second-best 9.8 points per game before the Dartmouth loss after getting just 5.7 points per outing before the new year. Mraz shot 43.2 percent from the floor (16-of-37), hitting a team-best 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from long distance, 90.9 percent from the line (10-of-11) and averaging 29.2 minutes a game through the month's first five bouts. She has dished out a team-high 24 assists with eight steals and collected 23 rebounds in January.

O'Keefe recorded five double-doubles in January 2009, averaging 18.3 points per game over the month. The junior forward and co-captain shot a team-best 54.4 percent (56-for-103) from the floor, including 45.5 percent from downtown (15-of-33). She pulled down 9.6 per game off the glass with a squad-high nine steals, and recorded back-to-back 26-point outings.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Junior co-captain Kelsey O'Keefe and sophomore forward Siamone Bennett were named to the Fordham Holiday Tournament all-tournament team for their performances over the two-day classic Dec. 28 and 29. O'Keefe, who led the team in points both games, averaged 15.5 points per contest, while Bennett averaged 13.5 points per outing.

BURKE EARNS 250TH CAREER VICTORY
With a first-round win over Colgate University at the Fordham Holiday Classic on Dec. 28, 18-year head coach Mary Burke earned her 250th career victory. In her 18th season as head coach of the Bryant University women's basketball program, Burke has a career record of 252-250 and has enjoyed two 20-win seasons over her coaching days. She entered 2008-09 with a 246-234 career record. The Bulldogs' have earned six wins so far this season to get Burke to the landmark victory.

BABY GRAND
With a layup 43 seconds into Dec. 1's 53-50 win over St. Francis (NY), junior Kelsey O'Keefe became the 19th player in Bryant women's basketball history to pass the 1000-point plateau. The 6-1 forward enters tonight's game with 1,262 points after being the team's top points scorer in each of the past two seasons. O'Keefe is the first player to achieve such a feat since Joanna Skiba ('07) reached the 1000-point plateau against Assumption College on November 30, 2006, and she is one of the fastest to reach the landmark. She also moves up to No. 10 on the Bryant all-time scorers list.

BURKE NAMED TO INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE HALL OF FAME
Rhode Island hoops pioneer and Bryant head coach Mary Burke has been named among the 12 headed for the RI Interscholastic League Hall of Fame.

A Rhode Island native, Burke was a great multi-sport athlete in the early days of the league's girls sports programs and is one of the best athletic success stories of any of the league's female graduates. She will be inducted on May 6 at the league's annual Hall of Fame induction dinner at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick.

BRYANT JOINS THE DIVISION I NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
In October of 2007, Bryant University officially accepted an invitation to join the Division I Northeast Conference. The school began a four-year transition in the fall of 2008-09 and become a full member of the Northeast Conference in the fall of 2012-13. 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.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Chace Athletic Center has been kind to the Bulldog women in the past, but it will have less chances to be lucky this season in Division I. The women host just eight home contests and are 3-2 in the safe confines of the Chace Athletic Center. The Bulldogs hosted St. Francis (NY) on Dec. 1, getting their first Division I home win, and returned home in January 2009 where they fell to St. Bonaventure in the first game of back-to-back home contests to open the new year. But Bryant got back to winning with a 63-53 topping of Colgate at home.

The Bulldogs are also shooting better in Smithfield, connecting on 40.6 percent of shots from the floor at home as compared to 36.9 percent away from the Chace Athletic Center. Bryant also converts nearly 40 percent (39.7) of 3-pointers at home, connecting on just 29.1 percent on the road.

CROSSING ENEMY LINES
Including members from Bryant's future home in the Northeast Conference as well as Independents, the Bulldogs will compete against seven different Division I conferences in 2008-09. Here is how they've fared so far.
Bryant vs. Division I conferences:
  America East: 1-1
  Atlantic 10: 0-3
  Independent: 1-0
  Ivy League: 0-4
  MEAC: 0-0
  Northeast Conference: 2-5
  Patriot League: 2-3

NO TIME TO WAIT
On November 14, the 2008-09 women's basketball team joined the women's soccer team and women's volleyball team as the only Bulldog programs to get their-ever first Division I win in their first DI contest with a 69-66 win over UNH. Kelsey O'Keefe scored 17 points in the contest on four three-pointers and 6-for-15 total shooting from the floor while Siamone Bennett and Kristin Mraz also scored in the double digits with 15 and 13 points, respectively. O'Keefe and senior Cara Johnson paced the team on the boards, each collecting seven.

OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
Senior Cara Johnson and junior Kelsey O'Keefe have been named the 2008-09 team captains.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs stay at home for one more game, welcoming Wagner to the Chace Athletic Center on Monday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

MAPPING IT OUT
Despite its home in Smithfield, R.I., Bryant boasts no homegrown talent on its 2008-09 roster. Instead, the Bulldogs hail from five different states, with six players coming to Douglas Pike from Massachusetts and six from the tri-state area. The Bay Staters make up much of the junior class (Schermerhorn, O'Keefe, Campbell, Mayshar) and add senior Fontaine and frosh Cowen, while five (Bennett, Mraz, Johnson, Dessingue, Stahura) call New York home. The remainder of the Bryant roster come from New Jersey (Hudspeth) and Maine (Wood).

BULLDOGS ON THE AIR
Fans can catch all of the action this year by logging onto www.bryantbulldogs.com to watch all Bryant home games live online, courtesy of Penn Atlantic. Also this year, track each game live online for free with LIVE STATS by visiting www.bryantbulldogs.com and clicking the Live Stats link.