Photo by: DSPics.com
Photo by: DSPics.com

Bulldogs close out non-conference slate with Holy Cross

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After a long 21-day break, the Bryant University women's basketball team is back in action on Sunday at 1 p.m. as the Bulldogs close out the non-conference schedule by hosting Holy Cross in Smithfield.

THE PARTICULARS
Opponent:
Holy Cross
Location:
Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time:
Sunday, December 30 – 1 PM
TV:
NEC Front Row
Live Stats:
Sidearm Stats
Game Notes:
Bryant | Holy Cross
Social Media: 
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #AllHeart #AllHustle | #NECWBB

PROMOTIONS 
Holiday Hoops
Sunday's game is the first of five home women's basketball contests to feature Holiday Hoops discounted ticket pricing. For details, click HERE.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross posts a record of 7-3 most recently topping Manhattan, 61-53. 

Junior forward Lauren Manis is the current leading scorer for the Crusaders scoring 21.6 points a game. Manis posted a double-double against Manhattan with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Crusaders are led by Bill Gibbons in his 34th season as head coach.

SERIES HISTORY
The Bulldogs have met with the Crusaders every year since jumping up to Division I. Sunday marks the 11th all-time meeting between the two schools with Holy Cross leading the series, 7-3, after topping the Bulldogs last season, 59-57 in overtime.

LAST TIME OUT: HARTFORD 67, BRYANT 57
Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) leads the Bulldogs in scoring averaging 18.2 points per game. Holloway also leads in rebounds grabbing 12.2 a night.

Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) has gotten into a groove this season with a total of 20 steals so far this season. Ashley recorded a season-high of seven against Brown. The fifth-year recorded her second career double-double, first of the season, at Hartford with 10 points, 12 rebounds leading Bryant with 5 steals.

SEEING DOUBLE
Junior forward Sydney Holloway tallies seven double-doubles so far this season, 26 for her career, leading the NEC. Holloway ranks fifth in the country for her double-double efforts.

YOU GET A DOUBLE-DOUBLE, AND YOU GET A DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Last game at Hartford, both Holloway and redshirt-senior Naomi Ashley tallied double-doubles as both players led with 12 rebounds a piece. Holloway contributed 23 points in the 10-point loss while Ashley chipped in 10. The last time Bryant had two double-double performances in the same game was Feb. 24, 2018 against Robert Morris with the duo of Holloway (23p, 12r) and Brooke Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) (12p, 11r).

20/20 VISION
Sydney Holloway had a 20/20 game against Brown on Nov. 8 where she scored 27 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. The last time a Bulldog had a 20/20 game was Holloway against Fairleigh Dickinson last season. During the second meeting with Brown in the 2018-19 season, Holloway posted 20 rebounds for a second time. No Bryant player has ever posted two 20+ rebound games in a single season in the D1 era.

NO, NO, NO
Sophomore Hannah Scanlan (Rumson, N.J.) posted a multi-block game in Bryant's season opener at UMass Lowell with two. Scanlan most recently denied a shot at Hartford to help Bryant tie its season-high of 4 blocks in one game. Fellow sophomore Julia Kelner (Fayettesville, N.Y.) is the only other Bulldog this season to post a multi-block game with 2.

ON THE RISE
Holloway has continued to climb the Division I scoring ranks at Bryant jumping five spots already this year. Holloway is just 24 points from 1,000 and will be the fastest player in Bryant's D1 era to reach the milestone.

GOT A MINUTE?
Sydney Holloway leads the Northeast Conference in total minutes played compiling 340:44 in just 10 games. The junior forward averages 34:07 per game.

BOARDING SCHOOL
Bryant leads the Northeast Conference with 418 total rebounds ranking 24th in the country. The Bulldogs have only been outrebounded once this year at Boston College, 47-37, and was even wtih West Virginia, Brown, and Providence. Holloway leads the Bulldogs and the conference with 122 rebounds ranking her fifth in the country. She is ninth in the country averaging five offensive boards a night.

CHARITY STRIPE
Bryant leads the conference and is 7th in the country for free throw attempts with 230. They also lead the conference in free throws made with 152 giving them a percentage of 66.1. Sydney Holloway also leads the conference with 67 free throw attempts so far this season. Holloway averages 6.7 attempts per game.

#ALLHEART #ALLHUSTLE
Bryant came up with a motto for the 2018-19 season that directly correlates with how the Bulldogs take the floor during every game.

UP NEXT: LIU BROOKLYN
Bryant begins the New Year by kicking off Northeast Conference play by hosting LIU Brooklyn on January 5 at 1 p.m.