Bulldogs and Colonials face off in NEC Championship Sunday live on ESPNU at 2 p.m.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After capturing its first-ever NEC Semifinal victory, the Bryant University women's basketball team heads to Moon Township, Pa. to face top-seeded Robert Morris in the NEC Championship live on ESPNU Sunday at 2 p.m.

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES
This contest marks the 19th all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Colonials. The hosts command the series record, 13-5, remaining undefeated in the Sewall Center. The championship contest marks the fourth time the two teams have met in the postseason and first time in the title game.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
The Colonials enter the championship game on a four-game winning streak, defeating No. 8 Fairleigh Dickinson, 68-35, in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Central Connecticut, 70-62, in the semifinals behind NEC Coach of the Year Charlie Buscaglia in his first season at the helm. The Colonials last conference lost came to the Bulldogs in a 62-59 overtime decision in Smithfield on February 20. RMU tops the league in six stat categories, including scoring defense (56.5) and scoring margin (+6.8). RMU is led by NEC Player of the Year and first team selection Anna Niki Stamolamprou, who averages 16.3 points per game. Junior forward Megan Smith averages the team's second-most points per game at 10.8, as she finished the year on the NEC Second Team.  

ALL-NEC RECOGNITION
Senior Alex Klein was named First Team All-NEC and freshman Sydney Holloway was named to the league's all-rookie team, as announced by the conference on Friday before the quarterfinal game.

THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
#1 Robert Morris vs. #4 Bryant

The championship game will air on ESPNU on Sunday at 2 p.m. live from the Sewall Center in Moon Township, Pa.

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

This is the Bulldogs' fourth meeting with the Colonials in the conference postseason. Prior to this season, the RMU topped Bryant in three-straight NEC Semifinals. This year, the Bulldogs and Colonials split games in the regular season with both teams winning on their home court.

POSTSEASON AVERAGES
The Bulldogs are 5-4 in the Division I postseason, including the Women's Basketball Invitation game against Fairfield in 2014. In the postseason, the Bulldogs averaged 65.5 points per game, while allowing 65.1. Bryant averaged 40.9 percent from the floor. After averaging a negative rebounding margin in the first two postseason appearances, the Bulldogs averaged 9.25 more boards in the three most recent postseasons, including the Bulldogs' 45-25 rebounding differential in this year's quarterfinal against Mount St. Mary's.

POSTSEASON PLAYERS
Senior Morgan Olander is the most seasoned player on the team, having appeared in nine postseason games, while earning six starts. The center has averaged 6.26 points in the nine appearances, posting a combined best 10.0 in the current postseason. Olander put up eight in Bryant's 2016-17 quarterfinal win over Mount St. Mary's. Appearing in six postseason games, Klein averaged 15.3 points, including a career-high 27 points in the Bulldogs semifinal loss to Robert Morris last season.

THIS SEASON VS. ROBERT MORRIS
The Bulldogs are 1-1 against the Colonials this season, facing a 62-46 loss in Moon Township and a 62-59 overtime win in Smithfield. The Black and Gold average 6.5 less points than RMU, while outrebounding the Colonials by 4.5 boards per game. RMU shot better than Bryant from the floor and from three at 35.8 and 33.3 percent, respectively, while Bryant wins the battle at the line (74.0-70.0).

AWAY WE GO
The Bulldogs are 4-6 against NEC opponents on the road and are heading to the Sewall Center on RMU's campus, where the Bulldogs remain winless (0-9). Bryant posts worse averages on the road in a number of categories, including points per game (home: 64.7, away: 57.5), scoring margin (+6.4, -3.3), three-point percentage (33.3, 27.6) and turnovers per game (16.0, 20.8). On the road, the Bulldogs only average more points than their competitors in the fourth quarter.

MAKING IT RAIN
Sophomore Haley Connors had a career day against Sacred Heart in the NEC Semifinals, tying her career-best five threes, going 5-for-5 from behind the arc. She also tied her career-high 17 points after connecting on a career-best six field goals.

Connors has shot 51.5 percent from three in the last 10 games in comparison to 29.2 percent in the previous contests. In the last 10 games, she has gone 28-for-56 from behind the arc and averaged 10.1 points, while hitting only 14 triples in the first 18 games of the season.

O'CANADA
Klein has recorded 20+ points in eight games, as well as leading Bryant 17 times in scoring and 13 times in rebounding this year. Klein has shot 49.1 percent from the floor and scored an average of 17.7 points in the last seven games. The forward averages a team-high 15.7 points per game, after putting up 23 points in Bryant's quarterfinal win over SHU.

WATCH ME NAY-NAY
Junior Naomi Ashley is fresh off her first career double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in Bryant's semifinal win over SHU. Ashley pulled down a career-best 12 boards in back-to-back games, including the Bulldogs' quarterfinal win over Mount St. Mary's. The guard has led the Bulldogs in rebounding seven times in her career. The junior averages 6.0 rebounds per game, including 2.39 offensive rebounds per outing.

SHE MY SWAT QUEEN
Olander averages a team-high 1.45 blocks per game, placing her fourth in the league in rejections. The 6-2 center has recorded 3+ blocks on seven occasions and has tallied a season-high four swats three this season, including four rejections in Bryant's semifinal win over SHU.

REBOUNDING MARGIN
The Bulldogs average the NEC's highest rebounding margin at +5.9 per game, placing them 37th nationally. In the team's best performance, Bryant out-rebounded Brown by 23, marking their highest rebounding differential since the 2014 season. Most recently, the Bulldogs dominated Mount St. Mary's on the boards, 45-25, in the NEC Quarterfinals and beat Sacred Heart on the glass, 41-32, in the NEC Semifinals.

70+ POINTS
When scoring 70+ points, the Black and Gold are 7-0, defeating Holy Cross, Brown, UMass Lowell, Mount St. Mary's, Saint Francis U., Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart.