SMITHFIELD, R.I. - St. Francis struggled offensively in the first half and ultimately fell to Bryant, 79-54, on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (11-17, 7-10 Northeast Conference) jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first half. The Red Flash (15-13, 10-7) didn't score until a layup from Shene Fleming at the 14:32 mark. SFU trailed 38-15 at halftime, putting up its lowest first-half total of the season.
SFU embarked on a 10-0 run to start the second half after multiple scores from Alexa Hayward and Rebecca Sparks. The Flash narrowed the margin to 15 with that run, but that was the closest they got for the remainder of the game.
No SFU player finished with double-digit points, but Hayward, Sparks and Rebecca Keegan each had nine. Naana Ankoma-Mensa had 10 points and 21 rebounds for Bryant. The Bulldogs badly outrebounded SFU, 54-32.
St. Francis wraps up its regular season as it takes on Central Connecticut State at 7 p.m. on Monday.
ST.?FRANCIS?(15-13): Hayward 2-7 4-4 9, Sparks 3-8 2-4 9, Williams 2-9 1-2 5, Gibbs 0-8 4-5 4, Fleming 1-1 0-1 2, Keegan 4-7 1-1 9, Doogan 2-8 0-0 6, Carangelo 2-4 0-0 4, Perkins 1-4 1-3 3, Brock 1-5 0-0 3, Phillips 0-1 0-0 0, Lilley 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor 0-2 0-0 0. Totals - 18-65 13-20 54.
BRYANT?(11-17): Whittington 8-17 4-4 24, Douglas 7-12 4-4 18, Rucker 3-6 7-9 13, Ankoma-Mensa 3-6 4-4 10, Bailey 1-3 0-0 2, Hinck 4-7 0-1 8, Leahy 0-1 4-4 4, Schissler 0-4 0-0 0, Corraro 0-0 0-0 0, Winder 0-2 0-0 0, Sobieraski 0-1 0-0 0. Totals - 26-59 23-26 79.
Halftime - Bryant 38-15. 3-Point Goals - St.?Francis 5-21 (Hayward 1-5, Sparks 1-1, Williams 0-4, Gibbs 0-1, Doogan 2-5, Perkins 0-1, Brock 1-4), Bryant 4-11 (Whittington 4-8, Schissler 0-3). Rebounds - St. Francis 32 (Keegan 6), Bryant 54 (Ankoma-Mensa 21). Assists - St. Francis 9 (Gibbs 4), Bryant 22 (Whittington 6). Total Fouls - St.?Francis 19, Bryant 13. A - 572.
