Box Score SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Nia Scott and Mimi Rubino combined for 41 points, as third-seeded Bryant (17-13) defeated sixth-seeded Binghamton (15-15) 66-63 in a Jersey Mike's/America East quarterfinal women's basketball game on Thursday evening at the Chace Athletic Center. With the victory, the Bulldogs avenged last season's quarterfinal loss to the Bearcats
Scott, who led all scorers with 22 points, shot 11-of-15 from the field and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Rubino, meanwhile, added 19 points with 12 of them coming from beyond the three-point arc.
Binghamton, which staged a furious fourth-period comeback to get back into the game, had four players reach double figures in scoring. Sophomore forward Kendall Bennett netted a career-high 19 points, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and going 11-for-12 from the free throw line in the process. She also added five rebounds.
Redshirt junior Jadyn Weltz finished with 13 points to go along with five assists and a pair of steals. Chipping in 11 points each were sophomore guards Yanniah Boyd and Bella Pucci.
Bryant appeared to have control of the game when Scott's layup gave her team a 54-43 lead with 8:17 left in regulation. From there, however, the Bearcats went on a 16-4 run to take a 59-58 lead with 2:03 left in regulation. Boyd punctuated the run with a three-point field goal.
The Bearcats' rally was due to a full-court press that led to 20 of their points coming off of turnovers. They also shot 54 percent during the final period of the game (6-of-11) and went 8-for-10 from the free throw line during that stretch.
The Bulldogs, however, reclaimed a 61-59 lead when Miranda Nyburg converted a three-point play with 1:43 remaining. In the final 32 seconds of regulation, Mia Mancini went 3-for-4 at the free throw line to lock up the victory.
"I am really proud of our team and how we came back," head coach Mary Grimes said. "We turned up the defensive pressure and our full court press led to some big stops and points in transition. Give Scott credit, she just buried us all night so kudos to her. But tonight we showed the resiliency we need to build on for next year and I am super proud of our team."
Up until Boyd's three-point field goal, the Bulldogs led the entire game. Bryant jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening 4:52, prompting the Bearcats to call a timeout. Rubino knocked down a pair of her three-point field goals during that spurt.
The Bearcats came clawing back in the second period, pulling to within 23-21 on a pair of free throws by Weltz. That capped a 10-3 run over a stretch of 4:40.
In the third period, however, Rubino struck again with back-to-back three-point field goals, giving the Bulldogs a 31-21 cushion and forcing Binghamton to call another time out. They got their lead up to as high as 49-35 with 40 seconds left in the third period before the Bearcats turned the game around during the final 10 minutes of play.
Bryant shot 49 percent for the game (29-of-51) and led by Scott, held a 34-22 lead in points in the paint. Binghamton, meanwhile, shot 42 percent (18-of-42) but went to the free throw line 28 times and made a season-best 24 attempts (85 percent). In addition, Bennett's 11 made free throws is the highest total by a Bearcat player this season.
Binghamton won the turnover battle with only 11 miscues - as opposed to Bryant's 14. The Bulldogs, however, dished out 20 assists compared to eight for the Bearcats.
NOTES::Weltz and Pucci, who were each named third-team all-conference on Wednesday, combined for 24 of the Bearcats' 63 points (38 percent) … Bennett shattered her previous career high of 13 points, which she set against Maine back on Jan. 29.
