Bulldogs host New Hampshire Tuesday evening

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University women's basketball will play its first game at home this season when the team hosts New Hampshire on Tuesday at 5 p.m. inside the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield. The game will be the first of 13 home games for the Bulldogs this season.

THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: New Hampshire
Game Time: Tuesday, Nov. 21 – 5 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase
Watch Live: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: BryantBulldogs.com
Game Notes: Bryant | New Hampshire

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
New Hampshire enters Tuesday's affair with a 2-1 overall record. Last time out, UNH visited Northeast Conference-foe on Saturday, topping the Seahawks 65-53.

Carlie Pogue leads the team in scoring through its first three games, averaging 17.7 points per game. The senior also leads the team in rebounding, averaging seven a night. Teammate Aliza Simpson, who has been the primary point guard for New Hampshire, leads the team with 4.3 assists per game to go along with 8.3 points and 5.0 rebounds on the year.

The Wildcats are coached by Maureen Magarity who enters her eighth season with the program. Last season, Magarity led the team to a program-best 26-6 record and a spot in the in the Women's National Invitation Tournament.

SERIES HISTORY vs. NEW HAMPSHIRE
Tuesday will be the sixth all-time game between the two schools. To date, Bryant has a 4-1 advantage over the Wildcats, winning the first four games of the head-to-head matchup. Bryant's first-ever Division I victory came over New Hampshire.

NOTHING CAN STOP ME, I'M HOLLOWAY UP
After being named to the NEC All-Rookie team last season, sophomore Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) started up right where she left off at Brown, where she led Bryant with 19 points and nine rebounds. She earned her first double-double of the season last time out at Maine, scoring 19 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

BUDDING STAR
After a breakout season in 2016-17, Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) has been a force for the Bryant Bulldogs through the early stages of the season. Ashley was a rebound shy of a double-double against Boston College, going for 12 points and nine rebounds. In the team's second game, Ashley scored eight points and pulled down six boards off the glass, also coming away with three steals.

DROPPING DIMES
Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) led the NEC in assists last season, totaling 155 on the season (4.8/game). Palmer had double-digit assists in three contests in the 2016-17 season, including a Division I program record of 14 against Saint Francis U on Feb. 18. Palmer also scored 12 points that game, earning the first double-double of her career.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Bulldogs went 12-2 inside the Chace Athletic Center last season and had the best home winning percentage in the NEC. In the past three seasons, the women's basketball team has a .761 home winning percentage, going 35-11 in that span. The three occupants of the Chace Athletic Center - Bryant's men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams - went a combined 31-10 (.756) on the floor in Smithfield in 2016-17 and 21-4 (.840) in NEC play.

SHARPSHOOTER
Junior Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) was third in the NEC last season in 3-point field goal percentage. Connors was 39.9% from long range last season, behind only Robert Morris' Megan Smith (46.5%) and Sacred Heart's Shelby Hickey (40%). In the NEC Semifinal win over SHU, Connors was 5-5 from downtown and finished the game with 17 points, which tied a career high.

BOARDING SCHOOL
Bryant led the Northeast Conference in rebounds last season, crashing the glass and collecting 1,274 boards. The Bulldogs held opponents to 1,089 rebounds over the course of the season, which equated to a difference of 5.8 per game in Bryant's favor. They outrebounded opponents in 23 of the 32 games played last season.

OCEAN STATE TIP-OFF
For the second consecutive season, Bryant will compete in the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament. The tournament pits the four Rhode Island Division I basketball schools against each other, with Bryant facing Rhode Island on Dec. 2 and the winner of Brown and Providence on Dec. 3. Head coach Mary Burke also participated in a Coaches Clinic on Nov. 1 to help promote the event with local youth basketball programs.

BAKERS DOZEN
Bryant will play 13 regular-season home games, beginning with the home opener against New Hampshire on Nov. 21. They also will host Boston University (Nov. 29), Binghamton (Dec. 7), and Hartford (Dec. 10), as well as all NEC opponents.

POWER FIVE DRAW
When Bryant opened the season at Boston College, it marked the eighth time over the past five years that the Bulldogs have played a team in one of the Power-5 conferences. Last season, Bryant played at Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Providence and opened the season at Seton Hall in 2015.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Bryant is scheduled to play six schools that made national postseason appearances last season. Robert Morris received a bid into the NCAA Tournament, while Sacred Heart, New Hampshire, and James Madison all participated in the WNIT. Saint Francis U and Brown were both selected to participate in the WBI.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Bryant finished 11-7 in NEC regular-season games last season, which was the fourth-straight season finishing above .500 in conference play. In home games versus NEC opponents, Bryant was 8-1 last season and is 31-16 inside the Chace Athletic Center in the regular season going back the previous five seasons.

EVERSON NAMED CAPTAIN
Bryant senior Kathleen Everson (Farmingville, N.Y.) was named a captain ahead of the 2017-18 season by head coach Mary Burke. Everson, a forward from Farmingville, New York, has averaged 7.4 points per game this season, setting new career highs in points on two occasions:

TICKET TO RIDE
Season ticket packages are available for the 2017-18 Bryant University men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant Athletics Ticket Office at 401-319-TIXX.

FRONT ROW SEAT
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference are once again affiliated with the Pack Network and NEC Front Row, the home for all NEC men's and women's basketball broadcasts. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading
video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2017-18 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge, high-definition broadcasts of all Bulldog home men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard, state-of-the-art graphics and DVR functionality. Visit
NECFrontRow.com for more information and a complete schedule of events.

NEXT UP: at Holy Cross
The Bulldogs travel to Worcester, Massachusetts, on Sunday for a Noon matchup with the Crusaders of the College of the Holy Cross. It is the 10th matchup between the two schools, having met every season since Bryant became a Division I program in the 2008-2009 season.