SMITHFIELD, RI– The St. Francis College Brooklyn women's basketball team (0-1, 0-1) fell to the Bulldogs of Bryant University (3-2, 1-0) in an overtime thriller from the Chace Athletic Center on Tuesday evening.
Nearly nine months following their 2019-20 season finale, the Terriers were back in action, and welcomes four newcomers to the team. All of whom, made an impact in their collegiate debuts. Freshman guard
Eszter Varga tallied her first two points on a one-on-one drive against Bryant's Nicole Gallagher. The Terriers or Bulldogs would not backdown, and would trade buckets along the stretch, as each program would tally 18 points after the first 10 minutes.
The freshmen of the program, would take over the contest in the second quarter, as guard
Carmen Segura's first collegiate three-pointer would give the Terriers a 24-21 lead just three minutes into the quarter. Then came sophomore
Alyssa Fisher, who tallied a career high 17 points inside Chace Athletic Center last season, would turn on the jets and fire home a pair of back-to-back treys. St. Francis Brooklyn would extend its run from eight to 10-2, and extend its lead to nine.
During the third quarter, freshman forward
Zharia Hutchinson would log her first career double-double, in her collegiate debut. Following a back-and-forth sequence by the Bulldogs heading into the final seconds of regulation, sophomore guard
Jada McMillan would put on the pressure towards Bryant, and forces a turnover, that would lead to a fast-break lay-up and tie that contest at 77 a piece and force overtime.
Following a strong effort, the Bulldogs came out swinging alongside the Terriers, but Bryant would get the last breath. Freshman guard
Nevena Dimitrijevic advanced her team by one point on a jump shot with 23 seconds remaining. Bryant would secure the game-winning shot with three seconds on a Kandis Taylor bucket.
The Terriers matched the Bulldogs in offensive rebounds with 15 a piece. St. Francis Brooklyn would match Bryant in the fast-break point category with 11. They would also lead the way with 11 steals, as opposed to the home-teams' nine. The Terriers also secured 29 points off Bryant's 26 turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 88 | Bryant - 89
- Sophomore guard Nevena Dimitrijevic tallied 21 points in 28 minutes on the hardwood. The Serbian guard converted eight-of-15 from the field, registered four assists, and stole a pair. Dimitrijevic would also convert a trio of threes.
- Sophomore guard Alyssa Fisher registered a new career high 19 points, blocked one, stole a pair, and converted seven-of-16 from the field in 43 minutes on the court.
- Freshman forward Zharia Hutchinson recorded 18 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, stole a pair, and sent home four-of-five from the charity stripe in 37 minutes. The Montgomery, AL native registered her first double-double in her collegiate debut.
- Senior forward Ally Lassen tallied 10 points, converted four-of-five from the free-throw line, grabbed eight rebounds, assisted on one basket, and blocked one shot in 22 minutes on the hardwood.
- Freshman guard Eszter Varga registered eight points in her collegiate debut, assisted on three baskets, grabbed two rebounds, and stole one in 25 minutes.
UP NEXT:
The Terriers are back in action tomorrow afternoon, December 9, as St. Francis Brooklyn concludes their back-to-back with the aforementioned Bulldogs at 4 p.m. The contest can be viewed on NEC Front Row.
