Purple Knights Come Up Short In ECC Women's Hoops Action Versus Roberts Wesleyan

Bridgeport, Conn. – The University of Bridgeport women's basketball team dropped an East Coast Conference matchup to the visiting Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan College, 73-61, on Friday evening. With the defeat Bridgeport falls to 4-19 overall and 2-13 in the ECC, Roberts Wesleyan ups its mark to 15-5 on the season and 10-4 in conference.

To start the game, UB raced out to an 11 point lead, 18-7, with 13:31 remaining. RWC responded with a 16-4 run of its own which gave them a 23-22 lead at the 8:37 mark. They continued that run, grabbing their largest lead of the night, 39-26, following a three-pointer from the Redhawks' Brooke Fields.  However, the Purple Knights did not go away easily with a 10-3 run concluding with a Jennifer Kucukkaya (Sr., Sodertalje, Sweden) three pointer to cut the lead down to six, 42-36, to close out the half.

After the intermission, Bridgeport cut the halftime lead in half to trail 42-39, but that would as close as they would get for the rest of the game. The Redhawks would go on to extend their advantage back up to 11, 52-41, with 11:36 to go in the second stanza. Again, Bridgeport would not go away without a fight, as they fought back to a five-point deficit, 55-50, at the 5:33 mark.  Keeping up with the pattern of the game, Roberts Wesleyan went on yet again a run to counter UB's comeback attempt, outscoring the Purple Knights 9-2, to take a 64-52 lead with just 2:05 left on the clock and putting the game out of reach until the final whistle at 73-61.

Kucukkaya was the leading scorer for UB on the night pouring in a total of 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Joining her in double figures were classmate Tiara Aziz (Easton, Pa.) and freshman Morgen Caution (Baltimore, Md.) who scored 14 and 10 points, respectively. Caution also blocked five shots on the night.

Roberts Wesleyan's Marissa Sell had a double-double in the win, scoring 19 points to lead all scorers and also pulling in 15 rebounds.

UB will be back in home action tomorrow, February 14, as they take on the Daemen College Wildcats with tip off slated for 2:00 pm.