Box Score
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SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team had a near comeback victory Saturday afternoon, but couldn't get past Bryant in the final minute of play, losing to the Bulldogs, 72-66 in the Chace Athletic Center. Bryant shot 56 percent from behind the three-point line, making nine-of-16 attempts, in what was the major difference between the two teams.
 
Senior Cleandra Roberts led scoring for LIU, with 18 points for the Blackbirds, going 8-for-14 from the field. With the loss, LIU stands at 3-13 on the season, 1-4 in the Northeast Conference, while Bryant improved to 9-7 overall, 4-1 in conference play.
 
Junior Letava Whippy opened scoring for LIU in the game, as she made a layup at 18:01. She scored the next four points for the Blackbirds, single-handedly putting LIU up, 6-4 at 17:13. Junior Kelly Robinson added a layup to make it 8-4, but the Blackbird lead wouldn't last long. Bryant would go on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes, to take the lead back, 13-8. The Bulldogs would lead for the rest of the game.
 
LIU stayed in it though, and nearly overtook the home team when senior Cleandra Roberts hit a jumper to close the gap to two points, 16-14 at the 10:31 mark. It was then, however, that Bryant started making those three point shots. The Bulldogs drained three straight three pointers widen the gap to 25-16.
 
LIU would close the gap once more, 25-20 with just under eight minutes to play, but Bryant would outscore the Blackbirds 14-5 over the final five minutes of play to take a 39-25 lead into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, Bryant continued its run, scoring four more points to take its widest lead of the day, 43-25. But the Blackbirds weren't done yet. At 16:24, freshman Aleisha Myers hit a three point shot that sparked an LIU run. Over the next four minutes, the Blackbirds would outscore the Bulldogs, 13-1, cutting the lead to 49-44 with 12:20 left to play.
 
In the next three minutes, LIU had costly turnovers on offense that let the Bulldogs right the ship, as they would widen the lead back up to 13 points just before the seven minute mark.
The Blackbirds did not stay down for long, and yet again, made a run at the Bulldogs. Roberts hit a jumper, and then sophomore Sophie Bhasin hit a shot in the paint. Roberts struck once more with a layup, and Robinson made back-to-back shots, to cut the gap to four, 63-59 with four minutes on the clock.
 
From there, the two teams were close, as both squads were over the limit, and making free throws. Robinson and Bhasin went a combined 4-for-4 from the free throw line, cutting the lead to 66-63 at the 2:11 mark.  But Bryant answered in kind, as the Bulldogs made four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win. Freshman Demi Tomlinson hit a three pointer as time expired, but it wasn't enough to make up the distance, as Bryant won, 72-66.
 
LIU had four players score in double figures in the loss, including senior Cleandra Roberts, who led the Blackbirds with 18 points. Sophomore Sophie Bhasin had 13 points and eight rebounds, while junior Letava Whippy had 12 points. Junior Kelly Robinson tied her season-high with 10 points and added six assists and two steals, while senior Fanny Cavallo had six points, seven rebounds, and a career-high four blocks.
 
Up next, the Blackbirds will travel to Hackensack, N.J., to take on Fairleigh Dickinson in a midday matchup, playing Monday, January 20 at 2 p.m.