Bryant set for showdown with BC

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SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Looking to knock off its first-ever ACC opponent in program history, the Bryant University women's basketball team travels to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for a Sunday afternoon showdown against Boston College at Conte Forum.  Opening tip is set for 2 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

This is the first-ever meeting between Bryant and Boston College.

The Bryant University women's basketball team picked up its second straight victory - and third overall - by means of a drubbing of nearby rival Brown University, 64-49, on Tuesday evening at the Chace Athletic Center.

Three players recorded double-digit points, and two barely missed double-double performances, as the Bulldogs (3-1) continued their stellar start to the 2011-12 season while also picking up their first win in four tries over the Bears (1-3).

Sophomore Steph Cardamone matched classmate Naana Ankoma-Mensa with 13 points on the night, as the former registered a new career high in scoring.  Ankoma-Mensa, meanwhile, was just one rebound shy of hitting what would have been the team's first double-double of the year, as the Ontario native finished the night with nine boards, as well as three steals and one block in 35 minutes of action. 

Junior Katie Whittington matched Brown's Hannah Passafuime with a game-high 15 points on a 5-for-10 clip from the field.  Senior Brittany Stahura was within reach of a double-double performance as well, hauling down a team-high 12 boards but missing the mark by two points, finishing the night with eight points and team highs in both assists (4) and steals (4).

The sharp-shooting Bulldogs eclipsed the 40-percent mark from the field for the second straight game, nailing a season-high 25 shots in 62 attempts, and also set a new season high in made three-pointers, going 8-for-22 from downtown.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

After posting a 20-13 overall record in 2010-11, the Eagles will look to rebuild and reload after graduating three starters for the first time in four seasons.  The returning starters for the team are junior guard Kerri Shields and sophomore guard Kristen Doherty.

Shields, had an outstanding sophomore campaign in which she posted 11.3 ppg, ranking third on the team, while leading the squad in three-pointers made with 85 on the season, the third highest among in single-season program history.  Doherty, meanwhile, was one of the defensive leaders for the Eagles, pacing the squad with 69 steals while dishing out 106 assists to rank second on the team.  She averaged 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, as well.

In the paint, the Eagles lost a great amount of depth - especially at center in former All-ACC First-Team member Carolyn Swords, who became the first player in program history to score over 2,000 points (2,029) and 1,000 rebounds.  Sophomore Katie Zenevitch will look to fill the void left by Swords after averaging 4.7 ppg as a rookie.  BC's other returning forwards, while small, play a fast-pace game and are not afraid to drive to the basket despite their size.

Through three games, Zenevitich has posted a team-high 10.7 ppg while sophomore forward Korina Chapman comes in second with nine points in one game.  Redshirt sophomore Tessah Holt - who played a season at Florida and sat out last year - has added 8.3 ppg while sophomore forward Shayra Brown and redshirt-junior Alyssa Fressle - a two-year player at the University of Colorado - both have contributed 7.7 ppg.

The Eagles have been tested by a tough stretch in the last two games, falling to No. 15 Rutgers, 74-58, before dropping a 79-54 affair out west against Arizona State on Nov. 20.  BC's lone victory came in its season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson, a 68-57 win on Nov. 11. 

SUPER SOPHOMORES

While the team as a whole performed admirably in Bryant's victory over Brown, one could make the argument that the sophomore class won the game for the Bulldogs. 

Naana Ankoma-Mensa matched classmate Steph Cardamone with 13 points apiece - setting a new career high for the latter player - while Courtney Schissler came off the bench for eight points of her own.  Altogether, those 31 points attributed for nearly half of the team's total offensive output, as juniors Katie Whittington and Danielle Douglas supplied 22 points and senior Brittany Stahura added in eight to round out the scoring distribution. 

Ankoma-Mensa ranks second on the team with 11.5 ppg, while hauling down 7.5 rpg and averaging a team-high 35.5 minutes per contest.  Cardamone and Schissler have made the most out of their time off the bench.  Cardamone boasts the best free-throw percentage on the team, as she is perfect on the year (6-for-6) and 6-for-10 from downtown - good for a team-high 60.0 clip.  One game removed from setting a new career high with 17 points against Maine, Schissler was valuable again for the Bulldogs on Tuesday against Brown, bringing her season totals to 9.3 and her FG percentage to 43.8 (7-of-16), which ranks third in that category.

OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT

While just four games into the season, Bryant's 3-1 record stands as the best three-game mark since the team began playing a full Division I schedule in the 2008-09 season.

That year, Bryant started the year 2-2, but lost six of its next eight games.  A year later and after the Bulldogs went 4-4 to start the season, they dropped six straight heading into conference play.  Last year, Bryant lost five straight before picking up its first win on Dec. 3, 2010, and headed into January with a 3-8 overall record.

40s...FINALLY!

After shooting just 27.4 percent from the field in a loss to Iona on Nov. 15, Bryant has recorded back-to-back plus-40 percent shooting performances in back-to-back victories over Maine and Brown. 

Coming into last Saturday's matchup against Maine, Bryant had ranked as one of the worst teams in the league in field goal percentage, but the Bulldogs finally eclipsed the 40-percent mark against the Black Bears…albeit, just barely.  Bryant shot a season-high 40.7 percent from the field, converting on 24-of-59 shots in their 12-point victory.  On Tuesday against the Bears, the Bulldogs just were over that mark again, going 25-of-62 from the field for a 40.3 percent rate.

On the year, the Bulldogs now stand at a 36.9 percent clip in field-goal shooting, while opponents have averaged a 41.3 percent mark against the Bulldogs.

In Tuesday's win, Bryant held Brown to just 49 points - a season low for opponents. 

Bryant held an opponent under 50 points on four occasions last season.

BACK-TO-BACK!

With the win over Brown, Bryant has recorded consecutive victories for the first time this season — a feat they did not accomplish until Dec. 11-19 last season after downing Colgate and Holy Cross in back-to-back contests.

As far as win-streaks go, the Bulldogs' longest unblemished run last season was three, downing Fairleigh Dickinson, Mount St. Mary's and Wagner in consecutive games.  Since joining Division I, the longest winning streak for the Bulldogs came in the 2008-09 season, when they won five straight from Feb. 14 - Feb. 23.  Bryant has recorded three separate three-game win streaks in that span as well. 

BULLDOG LEADERS (min. 10 shot attempts)

Scoring - Katie Whittington (12.0 ppg); Naana Ankoma-Mensa (11.5 ppg)
Rebounding - Meredith Soper (8.8 rpg); Ankoma-Mensa/Brittany Stahura (7.5 rpg)
Assists - Whittington (3.5 apg); Stahura (3 apg)
Steals - Stahura (12); Soper (11); Whittington (9)
Blocks - Ankoma-Mensa/Stahura (3); Soper (2)
FG% - Stahura (7-13 = 53.8%); Cardamone (7-15 = 46.7%); Schissler (14-31 = 45.2%
3-Pt% - Cardamone (6-10 = 60.0%); Whittington (9-22 = 40.9%); Schissler (7-16 = 43.8%)
FT% - Whittington (11-13 = 84.6%); Danielle Douglas (13-16 = 81.3%)

While Bryant has given up a respectable 60.5 ppg defensively through four games, opponents haven't found too much resistance in finding ways to score against the Bulldogs.

Bryant ranks ninth in the NEC in defensive FG%, as opponents have shot 86-for-208 from the field (41.3 percent), and have allowed opponents to shoot a league-worst 37.2 percent from long range.  And while they have excelled in driving to the basket while on offense, the team has averaged just 24.3 defensive boards per contest - ranking eighth in the NEC. 

TOUGH DOWN LOW

Opponents may be finding success away from the paint, but the Black and Gold have made it difficult for post players to find success when playing the Bulldogs.  To back up that statement, Bryant is atop the league in all rebounding categories, ranking third in rebounding offense (41.2 rpg) and rebounding defense (34.2 rpg); the Bulldogs' +7.0 rebounding margin is tied for tops in the conference, while their 17.0 offensive boards per game average is second best.

IN THE PAINT, IN YOUR FACE

The Bulldogs were slated to be strong with their post players this season, and have lived up to that billing early on.  With a season-high 36 post points scored against Colgate in the season opener, Bryant is averaging 27.5 points in the paint per game so far. 

STICKY FINGERS

With 45 steals in three games, the Bulldogs have been masters of the takeaways early on this year.  The fewest amount of steals that Bryant has recorded this year was 13 against Iona on Nov. 15, while registering 17 and 15 steals against Colgate and Maine, respectively, in its other two contests.

After going just 3-13 in both away games and neutral-site games combined in 2010-11, the Bulldogs have won both of their road matches to start this season.  Bryant started the year with a thrilling two-point win at Colgate on Nov. 11, and recently put forth its best effort of the year in a 12-point rout of the University of Maine on Nov. 19, winning that contest by a 65-53 margin.

DON'T LET ME GO

In Bryant's 66-53 loss to Iona on Nov. 15, both clubs combined for an astounding 55 turnovers.  It was the most turnovers committed in a game for Bryant since Bryant and St. Francis (NY) combined for the same amount of giveaways last January in a 59-48 Bryant victory.

UP NEXT

Two games are on slate for the Bulldogs next week, as they round out their Rhode Island-school slate when they host URI on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at the Chace Athletic Center before traveling to Quinnipiac in both teams' NEC opener on Saturday, Dec. 3.

For continuing coverage of Bryant University women's basketball, check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com, and be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics