January 17, 2010
BULLDOGS PLAY FINAL NON-CONFERENCE GAME MONDAY, HOST YALE AT 2 PM
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - On Monday, the Bryant University women's basketball team will take a break from Northeast Conference action and host Ivy League affiliate, Yale University, in its final non-conference contest of the 2009-10 season. Bryant is coming off one of its best performances of the season in an upset victory over Quinnipiac. Senior captain Kelsey O'Keefe continued her success, scoring a career-high 34 points against the Bobcats. The forward went 12-17 from the field, including 4-6 from 3-point range and capped things off by going 6-7 from the free throw line. Monday's matchup marks the second edition of the battle of the Bulldogs. Last year, in Bryant's inaugural DI campaign, the Yale Bulldogs defeated the Black and Gold, 77-71, at Yale.
Not unlike any of the past three seasons, the Bulldogs are led by their 6-foot-1 forward. O'Keefe is averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game, however, over the past three games; the Massachusetts native is averaging 24.6 ppg. The senior has scored 1,585 points in her career, good enough for third place all-time. Junior forward Siamone Bennett leads the Bulldogs in rebounding, pulling down an average of 6.4 boards per night.
Yale University, one of the Ancient Eight, is currently 5-9 overall and 0-1 in Ivy League play. The Bulldogs are coming off a, 60-56 loss at the hands of Brown University. Yale is 1-3 against common opponents this season, defeating Holy Cross and falling to Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac and Brown. Bryant defeated Quinnipiac this past Saturday, but fell to the Pioneers, Bears and Crusaders earlier in the 2009-10 campaign.
SCOUTING THE BLUE & WHITE
Yale is coming off a, 60-56 loss in its first Ivy League
contest of the year at Brown on Friday evening. The Bulldogs had
three players finish with double digit scoring, including Mady
Gobrecht. Gobrecht is head coach Chris Gobrecht's daughter. The
junior posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to
lead Yale. Junior Yoyo Greenfield and freshman Megan Vasquez scored
13 and 12 points, respectively. Senior Haywood Wright recorded five
blocks in the contest. Monday's game will be the seventh
consecutive game the Bulldogs have played away from home. Yale has
gone 1-5 during the away stint. Vazquez, Gobrecht and Greenfield
all average over 10 points per game.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
The Bryant Bulldogs have outrebounded their opponents in
11 of 16 games so far this season, including four of five
victories. Bryant is currently ranked second in the NEC in
rebounding offense, averaging 41.5 per game. The Bulldogs are third
in the NEC in rebounding margin, averaging 3.5 boards better than
its opponents. In the NEC, Siamone Bennett and Kelsey O'Keefe are
ranked 14th and 19th, respectively, in rebounding. Bennett is
averaging 6.4 boards per game while O'Keefe grabs 5.9 per contest.
Bennett is also second in the conference in offensive rebounds. The
6-foot-2 forward pulls down and average of 3.63 offensive rebounds
per game.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
With her 33 and 34 point performances on the past two
Saturdays, Kelsey O'Keefe has the two highest single-game point
totals in the Northeast Conference this season. She is currently
ranked eighth in the NEC, averaging 14.9 ppg.
The Bulldogs are shooting well from long-range this season and are currently in fifth place in the NEC in 3-point shooting percentage, averaging 33.4 percent from beyond the arc. Bryant is third in 3-point shots made with 96 on the season. Coming into today's contest, sophomore Lekia Cowen is ranked third in the NEC, shooting 44.9 percent from long range.
Bennett, who prides herself on defense, is ranked first in the conference in blocks (26) and blocks per game with (1.63).
O'KEEFE MOVES INTO 3RD PLACE ALL-TIME
With a layup just 1:26 into the Bulldogs 82-74 victory at
Colgate on Tuesday, Dec. 1 senior captain Kelsey O'Keefe passed
Stephanie Ladd for third place all-time on the Bryant scoring list.
O'Keefe now has 1,585 career points to go along with 747 career
rebounds.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING
O'Keefe earned her second double-double of the season in
the loss to Hampton University in the consolation game of the Sun
& Fun Classic on Dec. 29 in Miami. O'Keefe recorded 12 points
and posted 10 boards en route to her 26th career double-double.
Earlier in the season, teammate Siamone Bennett scored 22 points
and pulled down 10 boards against Long Island for her second
double-double of the season. Earlier in the season Bennett
registered 10 points and gathered 13 boards against Patriot League
affiliate Holy Cross in mid-November.
UP NEXT
Bryant will return to Northeast Conference action on
Thursday, January 21 when the Bulldogs travel to Hamden, Conn. for
another matchup with the Quinnipiac Bobcats. Bryant just recently
defeated the Bobcats, 72-62, on Saturday, Jan. 16. O'Keefe posted a
career-high 34 points in the win.
