Bulldogs take on Minutewomen in Amherst on Saturday at 2 p.m.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Bryant University women's basketball team faces its first Atlantic 10 competitor of the season when the Bulldogs take on UMass Amherst on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES
This contest marks the second meeting between the Bulldogs and Minutewomen, after losing last season, 86-69, in Smithfield.

SCOUTING THE MINUTEWOMEN
The Minutewomen enter Saturday's contest with the same .500 record as the Bulldogs. The home team has most recently lost three straight games to Hartford, George Mason and Hofstra. UMass' 66-55 loss to the Patriots marked the programs first conference defeat of the season. The Minutewomen are comparable in stats to the Bulldogs, but the Black and Gold win the matchup on the boards, grabbing on average 8.9 more rebounds than their opponents, while UMass averages 0.2 less rebounds than their opposition.

The Minutewomen are led offensively by three double-digit point scorers, including freshman G/F Hailey Leidel, junior F/C Maggie Mulligan and freshman guard Ryan Holder. Leidel leads the group with an average of 16.1 points per game, shooting 36 percent from the field, 31 percent from behind the arc and a team-high 86 percent from the line. Mulligan follows with 15.4 points per contest, hitting 44 percent from the floor and 64 percent from the charity stripe, while pulling down a team-high 12.4 rebounds per game. Holder rounds out the top performers with an average of 12.6 points per game off 41 percent shooting from the field and 84 percent shooting from the line.

KEYS TO THE GAME
The Bulldogs will face another opponent in which they will need to keep off the boards, as the Minutewomen average 39.1 rebounds per game. The Black and Gold are certainly capable, as they average a positive rebounding margin of 8.9 boards through the first eight games. The Bulldogs will also have to work on protecting the ball, as they have given up 140 points off 169 turnovers this season.

CHARITY STRIPE
After struggling from the charity stripe for a four-game stretch, the Bulldogs bounced back to shoot a Division I program-best 92.9 percent off 13-for-14, led by freshman Sydney Holloway's 6-for-6 performance against URI. Against Pitt, the Bulldogs shot a season-high 29-for-35, driven by Alex Klein's 15-for-18 shooting. The Bulldogs now average 72.8 percent from the line.

KLEIN AT THE LINE
Klein's 15-made free throws against Pitt ties the program-best free throws made in a game set by Jenniqua Bailey at Vermont on November 18, 2014. Bailey went 15-for-20 in the contest, while Klein contected on 15-of-18.

DRY SPELLS
The Bulldogs faced a number of major dry spells from the field at Pitt, including 8:31 in the second quarter without a field goal in which the Black and Gold turned the ball over eight times. In the third, the Black and Gold went 3:18 without a bucket from the floor, before facing a seven-minute stint without a made basket from the end of the third into the start of the fourth. Freshman Stephanie Lesko's last-minute three ended the Bulldogs 4:02 field goal-less stretch to end the fourth.

HOMETOWN HOLLOWAY
In the closest game the W. Va. native will play to home this season, Holloway notched her first double-double of the season off 12 points and 10 rebounds at Pitt. The forward is only the fourth freshman since the 2010-11 season to earn a double-double in her first season in Smithfield. The rookie's performance marks the eighth time in Division I history that a double-double has been recorded in an up-game, making her one-of-six players to do so. Holloway shot 5-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from the line, while grabbing two offensive and eight defensive boards.

GIVEAWAYS
The Bulldogs average 21.1 turnovers a game, giving up a season-high 25 at Pitt. The Bulldogs had nine unforced turnovers in the contest and a season-high 15 unforced errors at UNH. The Black and Gold have coughed up the ball 20+ times on six occasions. This season, the Bulldogs have given up 140 points off turnovers, allowing a season-high 28 at Pitt. The Black and Gold tally 106 points off opponents' giveaways, including a season-high 24 against Vermont.

NON-LEAGUE
Against non-league competitors in Division I play, the Bulldogs sit at 49-65, including just two winning seasons against non-conference opponents. The 2014-15 season was the last time the Bulldogs entered NEC play with a winning record, sitting at 8-5, while last year, Bryant went 4-9 to start the season. Bryant's strength of schedule has played a large role in its non-league struggles, including when Bryant played Big East member Seton Hall, America East competitor Maine and ACC opponent Boston College. The more challenging non-conference schedule continues this season with games at the Big Ten's Rutgers and the ACC's Pitt, along with similar nonleague opponents that Bryant faced last season.

QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Of the 33 periods the Bulldogs have played this season, including the overtime against Holy Cross, they have outscored their opponents on 15 occasions. In their largest quarter differential, Bryant outscored the Crusaders, 21-11, in the opening period on the contest. The Bulldogs scored a season-low four points in the third quarter at Rutgers, going just 1-for-13 from the floor. In their winning periods, the Bulldogs average 2.73 more points. In their losing periods, the Black and Gold average a deficit of 3.89 points. Bryant has tied their opponents in two quarters, one occurring in the first period and the other in the last.

REBOUNDING MARGIN
For the second time this season, the Bulldogs average a single digit rebounding margin of +8.9 per game. The team's average places them first in the NEC and 36th nationally. In their best performance, Bryant out-rebounded Brown by 23, marking their highest rebounding differential since the 2014 season. In its closest margin, Bryant and Rhode Island tied, both grabbing 42 boards.