No. 4 Bulldogs host No. 5 Mount in NEC Quarterfinal Sunday at 1 p.m.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University women's basketball team makes its fifth-straight Northeast Conference postseason appearance, hosting No. 5 Mount St. Mary's on Sunday at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES
This contest marks the 17th all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Mount and second postseason matchup. The series tied, 8-8, as both teams hold a 5-3 advantage on their home courts.

SCOUTING THE MOUNT
Following a three-game winning streak, the Mount dropped their regular-season finale, 71-55, to now No. 7 St. Francis Brooklyn, ultimately dropping them out of fourth place and home-court advantage. Caroline Hummell (20), Alexis Carter (23) and Mikal Johnson (26) lead the Mount in scoring and grace the conference's top-30 list in points per game at 10.3, 9.7 and 8.9 points, respectively. Hummell averages 41.0 percent from the floor, while also grabbing 5.2 boards per game. Carter leads the team with 36.5 percent shooting from behind the arc, while Johnson averages a team-high 29.7 minutes per game.

THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
#1 Robert Morris vs. #8 Fairleigh Dickinson
#2 Sacred Heart vs. #7 St. Francis Brooklyn
#3 Saint Francis U. vs. #6 Central Connecticut
#4 Bryant vs. #5 Mount St. Mary's

All games will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m., except for Central Connecticut at Saint Francis U. will tip at 2 p.m. Fans can follow the action from all games on NECFrontRow.com.

TOURNEY TIME
The Bulldogs are making their fifth-straight NEC Tournament appearance and fourth-straight hosting the quarterfinals in Smithfield. This year's quarterfinal marks the Bulldogs second time as the No. 4 seed. In 2013-14, No. 4 Bryant defeated No. 5 St. Francis Brooklyn in Smithfield, before losing to No. 1 Robert Morris in the semifinals in Moon Township. The Bulldogs are 3-4 all-time in the NEC Tournament, capturing all three of those wins at home.

This is the Bulldogs' second meeting with the Mount in the conference postseason. The two teams met in the quarterfinals in 2015, when the Bulldogs topped then-No. 7 Mount, 76-54, at the Chace. This season, the two teams split their two regular season meetings with each team winning on its own home court.

POSTSEASON AVERAGES
The Bulldogs are 3-5 in the Division I postseason, including the Women's Basketball Invitation game against Fairfield in 2014. In the postseason, the Bulldogs averaged 67.2 points per game, while allowing 68.9. Bryant shot on average 40.3 percent, only falling below the average in the 2014-15 postseason, in which they went 1-1. After averaging a negative rebounding margin in the first two postseason appearances, the Bulldogs averaged four more boards in the last two postseasons.

POSTSEASON PLAYERS
Senior Morgan Olander is the most seasoned player on the team, having appeared in seven postseason games, while earning four starts. The center has averaged 3.8 points in the seven appearances, posting a best 7.5 in the 2014-15 postseason. Appearing in four postseason games, senior Alex Klein averaged 17.0 points, including a career-high 27 points in the Bulldogs semifinal loss to Robert Morris last season.

2015 QUARTERFINAL VS. MOUNT
The Bulldogs and Mount met in the postseason for the first time on March 8, 2015, in the NEC Quarterfinals. The Bulldogs were victorious, winning, 76-54, in part to 16 steals and 50.0 percent shooting from three. The Black and Gold outrebounded the Mount, 34-25, and dished out 10 more assists.

As a sophomore, Olander totaled five points and 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive class, in 30 minutes of play. Klein logged one minute in the contest. The now graduated Breanna Rucker scored a game-high 27 points.

THIS SEASON VS. MOUNT
This season, the Bulldogs split games with the Mount, as both teams won on their home courts. Against MSM, the Bulldogs averaged 4.0 more points, putting up 65.5 per game. Bryant won the shooting battle on the floor (41.1-40.2 percent), but Mount has the edge from behind the arc (37.8-36.4 percent). The Bulldogs averaged +13.5 more rebounds than the Mount, but Mount averaged one more steal and four less turnovers per contest.

Junior Naomi Ashley and sophomore Haley Connors were the Bulldogs' leading scorers this season against Mount, averaging 13.5 and 11.5, respectively. Ashley shot 58.8 percent from the floor, while Connors averaged 40.0 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three. Klein averaged 10.5 rebounds vs. the Mount.

AT THE POUND
The Bulldogs hold the best home record in the league at 11-2 during the regular season and are 3-2 all-time at home in the NEC Tournament.

HOME ON THE RANGE
The Bulldogs are fresh off a six-game winning streak, including five of those wins at home. The streak includes back-to-back wins over two top-three seeded teams in the league and a win in the regular-season finale to capture home-court advantage in the NEC Quarterfinals.

NEC HOME VS. AWAY
The Bulldogs post an 8-1 league record at home, while sitting 3-6 on the road, heading into their home quarterfinal game. At the Chace, Bryant has outscored league opponents in the second, third and fourth quarters, as well as in overtime, while only putting up more points in the fourth on the road. The Black and Gold have been significantly better in categories, such as points per game, scoring margin, assists per game and turnovers per game.

FOR THREE!
Connors' career day against Central Connecticut in the regular-season finale helped the Bulldogs capture fourth in the league standings and home-court advantage in the opening round on the NEC Tournament. The shooting guard tied her career-best five threes, going 5-for-7 from behind the arc. She also totaled a career-high 17 points after connecting on a career-best six field goals.

Connors has shot 42.6 percent from three in the last eight games in comparison to 29.2 percent in the previous contests. In the previous eight games, she has gone 20-for-47 from behind the arc and averaged 9.4 points, while hitting only 14 triples in the first 18 games of the season.

O'CANADA
Klein has recorded 20+ points in seven games, as well as leading Bryant 16 times in scoring and 13 times in rebounding this year. Most recently, the Ontario native put up 23 against CCSU off 10-for-15 shooting from the floor and 3-for-4 mark from the charity strike. Klein has shot 52.9 percent from the floor and scored an average of 19.0 points in the last five games. The forward averages a team-high 15.8 points per game.

WATCH ME NAY-NAY
Ashley led the Bulldogs with 15 points at Mount St. Mary's, marking the second time in her career leading Bryant in scoring. Ashley's second-half efforts, including 10 points and four steals helped Bryant comeback from a 16-point deficit, taking the lead with nearly five minutes to play, but Mount regained the lead, winning, 61-53. The Bulldogs are 4-2 when Ashley has scored in double figures. The junior averages 5.7 rebounds per game, after most recently grabbing a career-high 12 against CCSU.

70+ POINTS
When scoring 70+ points, the Black and Gold are 6-0, defeating Holy Cross, Brown, UMass Lowell, Mount St. Mary's, Saint Francis U. and Central Connecticut.

GIVEAWAYS
The Bulldogs average 19.4 turnovers a game, giving up a season-high 29 at Robert Morris. The Black and Gold have coughed up the ball 20+ times on 16 occasions. Bryant has given up a season-low 13 turnovers on three occasions, including most recently against Central Conn.

HIGH PERCENTAGES
The Bulldogs finished with 85 points against Saint Francis U., their largest of the season after previously scoring a season-high 78 against Mount St. Mary's. The victory over the Mount marked the Bulldogs' largest win margin, 16, after shooting 49.1 percent from the floor, while hitting 41.2 percent from three and 83.3 percent from the line.