MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—The Barry Buccaneers closed out 2012 with an 80-71 win over the high-flying Riverhawks of Massachusetts-Lowell on Sunday in the Health & Sports Center.
The ‘Hawks, who came in as the number five offensive team in the country averaging 83.1 points per game, were held to just 31.3 percent shooting and 19.6 percent from three-point range.
The Bucs (7-2) got off to a hot start and led 9-2 after the first four minutes, but UML had already set a tone for the game by playing 15 different players over that stretch.
Though they never got on top, the ‘Hawks stormed back to tie the game at 20-20 on jumper by Bianca Simmons, the nation’s number two scorer, with 11:36 to play. The Bucs pushed the lead back to double figures, 42-32, by halftime.
The Riverhawks (5-4) came out of the locker room on fire and cut the lead in half in the first minute as Danielle Depierro hit a three-pointer and Sarah Illingworth had a put-back. But once again the Bucs had an answer, with an 18-8 run over the next nine minutes to take a 60-45 lead on a pair of free throws by Danika Pisconeri at the 10:17 mark which gave them their biggest lead.
After the ‘Hawks cut the margin to three, 69-66 on a three-point play by Simmons with 3:51 remaining, the Bucs slowly stretched the lead back out to double figures by hitting 8-of-12 from the line.
Tyler Hardy led the Bucs with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Colette Eule added 20 points and eight boards and Jackie Perez had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. Simmons led the Riverhawks with 20 points, though that was four under her average, and nine assists.
The Bucs travel to Lakeland, Fla., to take on the Florida Southern Moccasins on Saturday, Jan. 5, then return home for games against Lynn (Jan. 9) and Saint Leo (Jan. 12).
Newspaper Box Score
Mass-Lowell vs Barry
12/30/12 2:00 pm at Miami Shores, FL
At Miami Shores, FL
BARRY 80, MASS-LOWELL 71
MASS-LOWELL (5-4)
Bianca Simmons 20; Danielle DePierro 12; Jennifer Gonsalves 8; Lindsey Doucette 7; Ashley Rivera 6; Sarah Illingworth 6; Melissa Frase 6; Amra Elezovic 3; Bianca Langford 2; Brianna Calver 1; Sarah Bennett 0; Whitney Wilson 0; Brianna Wilson 0; Lauren Fiola 0; Erika Sjoberg 0. Totals 26-83 10-15 71.
BARRY (7-2)
HARDY, Tyler 21; EULE, Colette 20; PEREZ, Jackie 16; HOWARD, Kaley 6; JENKINS, Alesha 6; DIXON, Dominique 5; PISCONERI, Danika 4; SCHAHCZINSKI, Emily 2; BALL, Stephanie 0. Totals 20-62 34-45 80.
Mass-Lowell................... 32 39 - 71
Barry............................. 42 38 - 80
3-point goals--Mass-Lowell 9-46 (Melissa Frase 2-8; Jennifer Gonsalves 2-6;
Danielle DePierro 2-7; Lindsey Doucette 1-3; Bianca Simmons 1-6; Amra
Elezovic 1-5; Lauren Fiola 0-1; Erika Sjoberg 0-3; Brianna Calver 0-4;
Ashley Rivera 0-3), Barry 6-21 (PEREZ, Jackie 3-9; EULE, Colette 2-5; HARDY,
Tyler 1-3; DIXON, Dominique 0-4). Fouled out--Mass-Lowell-None, Barry-None.
Rebounds--Mass-Lowell 53 (Lindsey Doucette 8; Sarah Illingworth 8), Barry 52
(HARDY, Tyler 14). Assists--Mass-Lowell 15 (Bianca Simmons 9), Barry 12
(PEREZ, Jackie 6). Total fouls--Mass-Lowell 27, Barry 14. Technical
fouls--Mass-Lowell-None, Barry-None. A-104