Olander, Bailey, Rucker notch double doubles in huge win over Wagner

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Double doubles from junior Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio), sophomore Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) and freshman Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.) led the Bryant University women's basketball team to its most convincing victory of the season, knocking off Wagner, 84-48, Monday evening at the Chace Athletic Center.

It was a night of career-firsts and highs for the Bulldogs (12-5, 5-1 Northeast Conference) as they pick up the much-needed win to stay atop the league standings, while the Seahawks (4-13, 2-4 NEC) got caught on the wrong end of one of the most dominating performances, thus far, of the 2014-15 NEC season.

It was all Black and Gold, from the opening tip until the final buzzer, as three Bulldogs posted double dips for the first time in Division I program history. Rucker continued her dominating play finishing with 27 points and 15 rebounds, while Olander secured her third double double of the season with a career-best 17 points, 11 boards, and two blocks.

Ivory Bailey was equally impressive, recording her first, of what is sure to be many, double double efforts with 16 points and a career-best 13 caroms. Senior point guard Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) dished out a game-high eight assists to go along with four points, while classmate Melissa Corraro (Shelton, Conn.) handed out six helpers in 22 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) rounded out Bryant's double digit scorers finishing with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting to accompany seven rebounds.

Wagner struggled to truly find its footing on the offensive end outside of Jasmine Nwajei who finished with 24 points despite 28 percent shooting from the field.

Bryant was impressive across the board, posting season-highs in assists (21), rebounds (61), 3-point field goals made (11), 3-point FG percentage (.688), and points allowed (48).

Coming off their first loss in almost a month, the Bulldogs came out with vengeance Monday evening opening up a 20-6 edge behind eight early points from Rucker less than eight minutes into the contest. Wagner, however, did not let the game get too far out of hand, briefly cutting the edge to single digits, 25-16, at the under-eight media break.

Nonetheless, Bryant's offensive firepower was too much for the Seahawks to handle, as the hosts pushed their lead to 19 points, 41-22, at the 3:35 mark thanks to Ivory Bailey's third 3-pointer of the half. The Black and Gold closed the half on a 22-9 run capped off by a last-second put back by Leigha Tacey (Foxboro, Mass.) to widen the halftime margin to 22 points, 47-25.

Rucker led all scorers at the break with 14 points to go along with five rebounds while Nwajei put up 13 points on 3-of-5 from deep to pace Wagner. Seven of eight Bulldogs who saw first half action found their way into the scoring column to go along with 11 assists as a team, just six less than the season high of 17.

The Black and Gold opened the second half on an 11-1 run as their edge ballooned to 32 points, 58-26, just five minutes into the period thanks to seven quick points from Olander. Bryant remained in the driver's seat through the 10-minute mark, increasing its advantage to as large at 39 points, 69-30, as Wagner's struggles continued to plague the visitors on both ends of the floor.

Hovering around a 40-point lead for the remainder of the contest, the Black and Gold coasted to their biggest win of the season, 84-48.

Looking ahead, the women will kick off the first leg of a Bulldog basketball doubleheader on Saturday when they host Sacred Heart at 1 p.m.