Box Score SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Bryant scored 12 of the first 14 and 25 of the first 35 points of the game and did not allow Fairleigh Dickinson get back into it to win 74-52.
Fairleigh Dickinson (11-20, 8-10) will be the sixth seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament and will play at the third seed Robert Morris on Sunday at a to-be-announced time. Bryant (17-12, 14-4 NEC) is the second seed.
"Bryant really brought incredible effort tonight.
Anastasia Williams (Central Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan) showed good energy off the bench [tonight]. We missed a lot of layups in the first quarter but [Bryant] was very physical in the early going", said head coach
Peter Cinella post game.
The Knights scored six points -- all by
Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) -- and shot 3-of-20 (15-percent) in the opening quarter of the game. The Bulldogs scored 17 on 7-of-14 (50-percent) shooting. The six points are the fewest for the Knights since scoring four in the second quarter against Bryant earlier this season.
Anastasia Williams (Central Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan) had a career-high 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Cruz led the Knights with 22 on 10-of-28 shooting. The senior has 573 points this season which is the second-most in a single season in program history.
The Knights trailed 37-19 at the halftime break and would get as close as 15 in the third quarter, 41-26, after a Cruz layup with 8:46 to play. The Bulldogs, who were led by Breanna Rucker with 20 points and 15 rebounds, stretched the lead 60-39 at the end of the third.
Bryant led by 23, 66-43, with 6:56 left in the game. Neither team would score for the next three minutes.
Madelynn Comly (Littlestown, Pa./Delone Catholic) had five of the Knights' last seven points in the game -- including hitting two free throws to make it the final score of 74-52.
Fairleigh Dickinson will play at Robert Morris for the second time this season in the first round of the NEC Tournament on Sunday. Stay tuned to FDUKnights.com for the announcement of the game time in Moon Township against the Colonials on Sunday.
