Following an 82-48 victory in their season opener against St. Peter's University, the Bears were beaten twice on the road, falling at Fairfield University Tuesday and at the University of Vermont Saturday.
The Bears (1-2) fell to Fairfield (2-1) 49-34. The Stags took command of the court from the outset, scoring the first five points of the game and keeping hold of the lead for the rest of the game.
The Bears trailed 33-19 at halftime and were not able to bounce back offensively in the second half. Shooting only 26 percent from the field overall, the Bears were unable to narrow the margin to fewer than 10 points in the second half.
Fairfield forward Katie Cizynski was a dominant force in the game, notching a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Co-captain Sheila Dixon '13 led Bruno with 15 points and six rebounds.
The Bears brought an improved performance to their matchup against Vermont (2-2), but came up short in a 66-56 loss.
Bruno started out strong, with Sophie Bikofsky '15 sinking four three-pointers in the first half to help the team take a 31-27 lead.
"The first half we played very well - we made stops on defense and we scored on the other end," said point guard Lauren Clarke '14. "It was a close game the whole time, so we definitely had great defensive moments and just good shots."
But Vermont upped their game after the break. The Catamounts evened the score early in the second half and improved their defense, holding Bruno to a 30 percent shooting rate from the floor. Vermont extended its lead to 12 later in the half, and Bruno was unable to mount a comeback.
Forward Niki Taylor led the Catamounts with 15 points.
"We know that we could've played better, but we take these (games) as learning experiences, especially after Fairfield," Clarke said. "We'll look at what we did wrong and use that to motivate us for our next games."
The Bears continue their road trip at the University of Rhode Island (2-1) Wednesday, and Clarke said she expects a competitive matchup.
"We played URI twice last year - we beat them, but they had some key players injured," she said. "It's going to be a tough game."
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