Binghamton next on the docket for Bryant

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball team is back in action on Thursday, Dec. 7 when the team hosts Binghamton University at 7 p.m. in the Chace Athletic Center.

THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Binghamton University
Game Time: Thursday, Dec. 7 – 7 p.m.
Watch Live: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: Bryant Bulldogs
Tickets: Purchase
Game Notes: Binghamton | Bryant

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Binghamton comes to Smithfield with a 4-4 overall record. The team's most recent contest was on Dec. 2, when the team squared off with Yale, falling to the Bulldogs in overtime, 73-69.

Imani Watkins is the Bearcats' leading scorer, averaging 20.1 points per game over Binghamton's first eight games. The senior scored 23 points in the Yale game last week.

Alyssa James is the team's leading rebounder, corralling 8.3 rebounds while scoring 10.1 points per game.

Binghamton is coached by Linda Cimino, who enters her fourth year with the program. To date, Cimino has led the Bearcats to a 39-64 record.

SERIES HISTORY vs. BINGHAMTON
Thursday marks the third game between the two schools since Bryant advanced to Division I ahead of the 2008-09 season. The Bearcats won the first two games in the series.

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. Holloway has earned double-doubles on three occasions this year, last vs. Brown in a 23-point, 14-rebound performance vs. Brown. As a freshman, Holloway had two double-doubles in 32 games. She has three in just eight outings as a sophomore.

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. The highlight of Ashley's season came at Holy Cross when the red-shirt junior had 9 points, 12 re­bounds and 9 steals against the Crusaders.

DROPPING DIMES
Junior Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) led the NEC in assists last season, to­taling 155 on the season (4.8/game). In 2017-18, Palm­er had a season-best nine assists when the University of New Hampshire Wildcats visited the Chace Athletic Center on Nov. 21. She currently fourth in the NEC with 3.6 per game.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Sydney Holloway and Naomi Ashley have been a dynamic duo over Bryant's first eight games this sea­son. Either Holloway or Ashley has been the lead­ing scorer or rebounder in seven of the team's eight games.

WOMAN OF STEAL
In a two-point overtime defeat at Holy Cross, Naomi Ashley set a Bryant Division I program record for steals in a game with nine. She bested the previous best of eight set by Danielle Douglas in the 2010-2011 season. The program record belongs to Beth Connealy (now Wandyes), who had 10 in a game versus Springfield in 1995. Ashley had another big theft game vs. Rhode Island, coming away with six steals vs. the Rams in the first round of the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament.

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.

OCEAN STATE TIP-OFF
For the second consecutive season, Bryant competed in the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament, a four-team tournament with each Division I basketball program in Rhode Island. Bryant finished as the runner-up in the tournament, topping Rhode Island in the first round before falling to Brown in the tournament championship.

BAKERS DOZEN
Bryant will play 13 regular-season home games, beginning with the home opener against New Hampshire on Nov. 21. They also 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 3.3 points per game this season, setting new career highs in points on two occasions.

BRYANT ADDS TWO
Bryant University women's basketball added two future Bulldogs during the early signing period, receiving National Letters of Intent from Trinity Bravo (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Alexandra Hart (Saco, Maine).

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.