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

Robert Morris visits Chace for Saturday showdown

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball team welcomes Robert Morris to the Chace Athletic Center on Saturday, January 19 for a 1 p.m. start.

THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Robert Morris
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: January, 19 - 1 p.m.
Tickets: Holiday Hoops
TV: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #AllHeart #AllHustle | #NECWBB

PROMOTIONS
Holiday Hoops
Saturday's game is the fourth of five home women's basketball games that features Holiday Hoops pricing. For details, click HERE.

Double Header
Saturday's game is one of two games being played at Chace as the Bryant University men's basketball team also plays Robert Morris at 4 p.m. Admission for the women's game will be accepted if fans choose to stay for the men's game.

THE MATCHUP
Bryant is set to host Robert Morris at the Chace Athletic Center on Janury 14 at 1 p.m.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris posts a 7-8 overall record winning its first four conference games. They are alongside Sacred Heart as the only two teams in the conference left undefeated.

Preseason All-NEC selection Nneka Ezeigbo and freshman Isabella Posset lead the Colonials in scoring each averaging 11 points per game in conference play.

Charlie Buscaglia leads Robert Morris in his third season as head coach earning back-to-back NEC Coach of the Year honors during the last two season.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday marks the 22nd meeting between the team with Robert Morris leading the all-time series, 16-5. The Colonials took both games last season tallying their biggest win over the Bulldogs, 72-49, in Moon Township. In the second meeting last season, Bryant fell by just six points, 67-61, in Smithfield. 

LAST TIME OUT: SACRED HEART 49, BRYANT 48
Bryant and Sacred Heart showed solid defensive performances as both teams scored under 50 points in a game that came down to the final seconds. Bryant shot a season low 27.3% from the field while Sacred Heart shot slightly better shooting 33.9% from the field.

Sophomore Hannah Scanlan (Rumson, N.J.) led the Bulldogs with 12 points shooting 6-of-12 from the field and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine.

DISHING IT OUT
Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) led the Bulldogs with a season-high 10 assists in conference opener vs. LIU Brooklyn. She currently leads the Bulldogs with 63 assists so far on the season and is ranked second in the NEC for assists per game with 4.2.  Palmer is 24 assists away from 500 and only six players in NEC's history has ever reached the milestone.

ZEGA-WHO?
Junior guard Masey Zegarowski (Hilton, Mass.) was a major contributor in Bryant's Northeast Conference opening weekend scoring a season-high 16 points against LIU Brooklyn, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from three. Zegarowski hit two back-to-back three's late in the fourth quarter to regain the lead and push the Bulldogs past LIU. She followed up her performance against St. Francis Brooklyn scoring 10 points shooting 3-of-11 from the field. The junior also scored double-digits at Mount St. Mary's with 11 points shooting 5-of-13 from the field.

NEXT MAN UP
After not playing a minute for two straight games, sophomore Brooke Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) had a career-game at Mount St. Mary's to help Bryant come back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to take down the Mount. Bjelko had 15 points, 12 rebounds shooting 7-of-11 from the field.   

BOARDING SCHOOL
Bryant is now second in the NEC with 626 rebounds posting 41.73 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs have only been outrebounded twice this year at Boston College, 47-37, and Holy Cross, 51-34, and Sacred Heart, 45-41. The Bulldogs were even wtih West Virginia, Brown, and Providence. Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) leads the Bulldogs and the conference with 188 rebounds ranking her seventh in the country. The junior forward also leads the conference with most offensive rebounds a game with five as she ranks fourth in the country in that category.

UP NEXT: SAINT FRANCIS U
Bryant meets with defending NEC champs Saint Francis on Monday, January 21 for a 2 p.m. matchup.