Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) led the Knights with a game-high 21 points.  Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) chipped in eight points and led the Knights on the defensive end with five steals.

The Bulldogs took a 10-1 lead in the game's first five minutes.  The Knights were down 7-0 before Laury connected on one of two free throws.

Laury's driving layup started a stretch of seven unanswered points scored by the Knights.  Jenna Strich followed with a trey from the right wing, and Laury knocked down a running jumper to cut the lead to 10-8, with 12:48 to go in the first half.

Bryant stretched its lead back out to seven before Mayrose's tough layup and Kayla Killian (Cliffwood Beach, NJ/St. John Vianney)'s 19 foot jumper cut the lead to 19-16.

Down 21-18, Saunders hit a running jumper in the lane to cut the lead to one, 21-20, with 6:17 to go in the first half.

The Bulldogs then scored nine unanswered points over the next three and a half minutes to take a 29-20 lead.

Alannah Driscoll-Sbar (Northampton, MA/Northampton)'s two free throws ended the scoring drought for the Knights.  After Bryant went back up nine, Strich's second three-pointer of the half from the right wing cut the lead to 31-25, with 0:39 left in the first half.

The Knights had a chance to cut into the lead before the half but came up short.  Bryant took a 31-25 lead into halftime.

Laury led the Knights with nine points in the first half.  Driscoll-Sbar pulled down five rebounds to lead the squad in the first half.

Both teams struggled from the field in the first half.  The Knights shot 29.6 percent (8-for-27) while the Bulldogs only shot 24.1 percent (7-for-29).  However, the free throw line was a different story as each team took advantage of their opportunities.  The Knights knocked down 77.8 percent (7-for-9) of their free throws, while the Bulldogs went 14-for-16 (87.5 percent) from the line.

The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Knights in the first half, 24-19.  The two teams combined for 15 turnovers, with the Knights turning the ball over eight times and the bulldogs seven times.

The Bulldogs extended their lead back to seven to start the second half.  Laury knocked down back-to-back jumpers to cut the lead to 32-29 with a little over a minute gone in the second half. 

Bryant answered with a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, 41-31, with 13:34 to go in the game. 

Mayrose then hit two consecutive jumpers to start an 8-0 run.  After a Bulldog miss, Strich grabbed the rebound and found a streaking Driscoll-Sbar for a short pull-up jumper.  Laury's running jumper outside the paint capped the run as the Knights found themselves down two, 41-39, with 8:15 to go.

After the Bulldogs went back up four at 43-39, the Knights scored the next five to take a 44-43 lead on Saunders' fast break layup after she picked the pocket of a Bulldogs' player.  It was the first lead of the game for the Knights.

Bryant answered with a three-pointer from Kristen Mraz to go back up, 46-44.  The lead would extend back to four at 48-44, with 6:12 to go in the game.

A driving layup by Laury cut the lead to 48-46.  After the Bulldogs hit one of two free throws, Laury knocked down two free throws of her own to cut the lead to one, 49-48. 

A basket by Kelsey O'Keefe put the Bulldogs back up three, 51-48.  Mayrose then hit another layup, and Saunders recorded another steal which she converted into another fast break layup as the Knights regained the lead, 52-51, with 4:25 to go.

The Knights lead would stretch to two, 53-51, as Mayrose connected on one of two free throws with 3:45 to go in the game.

Mraz answered with her second three-pointer to put the Bulldogs back up one, 54-53.  Siamone Bennett's layup extended the lead to three at 56-53, with 2:00 to go. 

Still down 56-53 with 0:31 to go, the Knight had an opportunity to tie the game or cut the lead to one.  With 0:11 seconds to go, Strich misfired on a three-pointer from the left corner, and Mraz grabbed the rebound and was fouled.

Mraz gave the Knights hope as she missed the first free throw.  However, she connected on the second and gave the Bulldogs a 57-53 with 0:10 left.

The Knights rushed the ball down the court to score a quick basket but came up empty as they missed two shots.

Bryant escaped with the victory, 57-53, as they avenged a 20 point loss three weeks ago to the Knights.  The Knights failed to score a basket over the final 3:45.

"We did a great job of battling back from down 10 to take the lead," said Head Coach Pete Cinella. "We were unable to step-up and get a big stop.  Bryant was able to hit the big shot down the stretch."    

Both teams shot better in the second half as each finished shooting over 30 percent.  The Knights shot 33.3 percent from the floor (19-for-57) and held the Bulldogs to only 30.2 percent (16-for-53).  

For the second game in a row, the Knights struggled from behind the arc.  They went 2-for-15.  They have now gone 5-for-37 from long-range in their last two games.  Bryant only shot 27.8 percent (5-for-18) from three-point range.

After both teams had a stellar first half from the free throw line, each team missed more frequently in the second half.  The Knights finished the game shooting 68.4 percent (13-for-19) from the line, while the Bulldogs went 20-for-28 from the line (71.4 percent).

The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Knights, 47-37.  However, the Knights forced 19 Bryant turnovers and only turned the ball over 15 times to win the turnover battle.  Each team had six steals.

O'Keefe registered a double-double to lead the Bulldogs.  She shared team-high honors in points with Bennett as each player scored 15 points.  She grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to complete the double-double.

The Knights return to action this Saturday as they travel to New Britain, CT to take on the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State in an NEC tilt.  Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m.