University of Maine
Bryant
Women's Basketball Falls in Season Opener at Bryant
11/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The University of Maine women's basketball team failed to overcome a 16-point first half deficit as it dropped its season opener at Bryant by a score of 65-52 on Friday evening. Sigi Koizar (Vienna, Austria) directed the Black Bear offense, matching a career-high with 16 points.
Liz Wood (Catlett, Va.) tallied double-figures for the sixth-straight game with 11 points and a team-high six rebounds while junior transfer Bella Swan (Farmington, Ut.) added eight points off the bench in her Maine debut.
Maine shot 38.2-percent from the floor (21-for-55) but struggled from long-range, hitting just 3-of-18 attempts from beyond the 3-point line while also losing the rebound battle by a 40-31 margin.
The Bulldogs' Ivory Bailey led all scorers with a 24-point effort while Morgan Olander added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
No team seemed to want to take control of the contest early until the Bulldogs began to make a bit of a run after snatching a six-point edge with just under nine-minutes to play in the opening half.
The Black Bears were able to chop the lead down to a pair following back-to-back hoops from Koizar and Mikaela Gustafsson (Sodertalje, Sweden).
Bryant ended the first half on a strong note, holding Maine scoreless over the final 4:40 while posting a 13-0 run to close the opening stanza and take a 36-20 lead into the break.
Maine chipped away at the lead with a strong effort to begin the second half as Swan, Koizar and Chantel Charles (London, UK) all cashed in on early buckets to bring Maine back within 12.
The Bulldogs answered, stretching their lead out to 19 before Koizar put an end to the run with five-straight points of her own, beginning with a 3-pointer, to cut the lead back down to 14 at 49-35.
That would be the closest the Black Bears would get as Bryant took its largest lead of the contest, a 20-point advantage, at the 4:57 mark. Maine would end the game on a 5-0 run, ending with a 3-pointer for Christiana Gerostergiou's (Thessaloniki, Greece) first career points, but it would be too late for a comeback as Maine fell 65-52 in the opener.
The Black Bears return to action on Sunday, Nov. 16 in their home opener when they host LIU-Brooklyn beginning at 1 p.m. For tickets, call 1-800-745-300 or visit www.ticketmaster.com (.)
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