BROOKLYN, N.Y. -  The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team fell to visiting Bryant Saturday afternoon in the Steinberg Wellness Center, dropping a 62-53 decision to the Bulldogs. Early shooting struggles would plague LIU (2-11, 1-1 NEC) in the loss, as Bryant (6-7, 1-1 NEC) led wire-to-wire in the Northeast Conference contest. Senior Shanovia Dove led the Blackbirds with a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while freshman Aja Boyd added 11 points.

Bryant scored first in the game, and they scored often, jumping out to a 10-0 lead before the Blackbirds even got on the board. Senior Shanovia Dove scored LIU's first points of the game at 4:49 with a jumper, but the Blackbirds would struggle to score. The Bulldogs eventually widened the lead up to 16-2 with two minutes left in the first quarter. LIU went 1-for-12 from the field in that span.

Once the shots started falling for the Blackbirds, however, it was a different story. Over the last two minutes of the first period and into the second, LIU put together a 15-2 run that would close the lead to just one point. Dove led the Blackbirds with five points in that span, while classmate Brianna Farris hit a three that closed the gap even further. Freshman Aja Boyd would hit two free throws with 5:25 left in the first half to cap the run, and LIU was down by just one point, 18-17.  The Bulldogs would end the half on a 14-4 run of their own though, giving the visiting team a 32-21 cushion. Dove would hit one more three-pointer as the clock ran down to finish the half, a trey that helped LIU cut the lead down to single digits once more, 32-24.

Coming out of the half, the Blackbirds shot well, going 3-for-3 from the field in the first two minutes, as a part of a 7-2 run. A three pointer from freshman Seneca Richards capped the run, cutting Bryant's lead to three points, 34-31 at 7:44. Bryant would widen the lead back up to seven points, but a 6-2 run to close the quarter for LIU kept the game close, 40-37.

Dove would hit a jump shot to start the fourth quarter and cut the lead down to one once more, 40-39 at 9:39. But Bryant would go 4-for-4 from the field over the next two minutes, using a 6-2 run to give themselves a cushion, 48-42. The Blackbirds would threaten twice more late in the fourth quarter: freshman Gabrielle Caponegro made two free throws and junior DeAngelique Waithe added a layup at 3:34 that would cut the gap to four points, 52-48. Bryant's Kierra Palmer would hit a three thirty seconds later to widen the lead back up to seven points, but LIU's Aja Boyd converted the traditional three point play with 50 seconds left to make it 55-51. But the Bulldogs went 7-for-7 from the charity stripe in the final 49 seconds of play, while LIU missed three shot attempts to cut into the lead, falling to Bryant, 62-53.
 
BLACKBIRD BITS

• Bryant had three players score in double figures, led by Kierra Palmer, with 18 points, on 9-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. Alex Klein had a double-double for the Bulldogs, with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Sydney Holloway had 14 points.
• Shanovia Dove led LIU with 21 points and 10 rebounds, along with three steals. Freshman Aja Boyd added 11 points and six rebounds.
• Up next, LIU opens 2017 by hitting the road to take on Saint Francis U and Robert Morris. After a week-long break, the Blackbird face off with the Red Flash, Saturday, January 7 at 1 p.m., before a Monday night matchup against the Colonials, January 9 at 7 p.m.