Red-Hot Shooting Lifts Bridgeport Women To An 87-70 Season-Opening Victory Over Franklin Pierce

Staten Island, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport women's basketball team earned its first win in a season opener since the 2013-14 season when UB topped Felician, 90-79, as the Purple Knights rode some red-hot shooting to an 87-70 triumph over the Franklin Pierce University Ravens in the 2022-23 opener for both teams played Saturday night at the College of Staten Island Classic.

As a team, Bridgeport shot a blistering 53.1 percent from the floor (53.1 percent) and connected on 13-of-21 tries from behind the three-point arc (61.9 percent).

10 of 11 Purple Knights that saw action on Saturday scored, and eight of those 10 netted at least five points.

Bridgeport led Franklin Pierce, 47-41, at the halftime and pulled away in the contest by outscoring the Ravens 24-15 in the third quarter.

UB freshman Amani Melendez (Woodbridge, Va.) starred in her collegiate debut leading all scores in the game with 25 points, as she went 9-of-15 from the floor, including hitting 6-of-10 three-pointers.  She also grabbed a team-high six rebounds for the winners.

Amani was joined in double-digit scoring by sophomore Brianna Meekins (Bridgeport, Conn.) who had 14 points.

Newcomer, freshman Niyah Whitten (Bloomfield, N.J.) fell just shy of double figures scoring nine points in her first outing in a Bridgeport uniform.

Up next, UB wraps up a busy first weekend of play this season on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. when the Purple Knights head right back to Staten Island to take on the host Dolphins, a former East Coast Conference opponent.