Defensive Battle Nets Bobcats 10th-Straight Win
Make it 10 in a row for the surging Bryant & Stratton College – Rochester women’s basketball team.
Overcoming the injury bug and early foul trouble, the Bobcats hit the road and escaped Syracuse with a 71-59 win over Bryant & Stratton College – Syracuse.
Playing without Dorian Sharp for much of the first half, the Bobcats struggled to stay within reach of the hosts but managed to hit the half down three. A pair of key three pointers from Kearah Henry kept BSC Rochester in the hunt as their short bench pushed to keep pace with Syracuse and the leading scorer in the nation, Amanda Cruz.
After sitting most of the first half, Sharp, one of the Bobcats’ key performers came back into the game and proceeded to dominate for the rest of the way. She posted all of her game-high 30 points in the second half, adding 13 rebounds to the ledger.
Sharp’s play was buoyed by 13 points from Shanell Glover and 10 more from Myjoi Adams. Bryant & Stratton would need every point they could find in the second half as they worked back from their sloppy first half.
“We played well defensively but it definitely wasn’t our best game,” said head coach Sean Knorr.
The defensive effort, a hallmark of the Bobcats’ impressive inaugural season, held Cruz to just 19 points on the night, nearly five points lower than her season average.
Bryant & Stratton climbed to fifth in the USCAA on the heels of a pair of victories over the number-one ranked teams at the DI and DII levels of the USCAA. The wins knocked Bryant & Stratton College – Buffalo (DI) and Villa Maria (DII) off the top of their respective rankings. Sunday’s win over #10 Bryant & Stratton College – Syracuse could offer the Bobcats another bump in the national rankings as they look ahead to Corning Community College for their final regular season game and carrying a 20-5 record.