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

Bulldogs travel to New York to meet with St. Francis Brooklyn

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball team hits the road this weekend for Brooklyn, N.Y. to first meet with St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

THE PARTICULARS
Opponent:
St. Francis Brooklyn
Location:
Pope Physical Education Center (Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.) 
Date and Time:
Saturday, March 2 – 1 p.m.
TV:
NEC Front Row
Live Stats:
Sidearm Stats
Game Notes:
Bryant
Social Media: 
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #AllHeart #AllHustle | #NECWBB

THE MATCHUP
Bryant travels back to New York to first take on St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m.

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
St. Francis Brooklyn is coming off a two-game losing streak falling to both Robert Morris and Saint Francis to post an overall record of 15-12 and a conference record of 9-6.

Jade Johnson leads the team in scoring averaging 20 points a game against the Northeast Conference. Johnson posted 14 against the Bulldogs in January but Dominique Ward led the Terriers with 16 points.

Senior Amy O'Neil leads the conference in assist to turnover ratio (1.94), assists (229), assists per game (8.5) and steals (60). She is second in the country for total assists.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the 21st meeting in history between the two teams and the second time this season. Earlier in January, the Bulldogs fell to the Terriers in Smithfield, 60-55.

LAST TIME OUT: BRYANT 84, WAGNER 69
Bryant defeated Wagner in Staten Island on Monday to extend the Bulldogs best winning streak of the season.

Redshirt senior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) led with a career-high 28 points, five rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block to round out an overall performance.

Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W.Va.) and Brooke Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) also tallied double-figures as Holloway added 18 points and Bejlko chipped in 10.  

DISHING IT OUT
Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.)
led the Bulldogs with a season-high 10 assists in conference opener vs. LIU Brooklyn. Palmer tied her season-best against Mount St. Mary's as she tallied another double-digit assist performance with 10. She currently leads the Bulldogs and is second in the conference with 105 assists so far on the season. Palmer is also ranked second in the NEC for assists per game with 4.0. Palmer compiled her 500th assist against Sacred Heart as she is now one of just seven players in NEC history to reach the milestone. Againt conference foes, Palmer averages 4.1 assists a game.

PICKING POCKETS
Ashley leads Bryant with 54 steals. This year she posted a season-high of seven steals against Brown (1/1). Ashley swiped five at Central Connecticut marking the most steals she has compiled against an NEC foe in 2019. Ashley is fouth in the NEC for total steals and steals per game with 2.08.

WATCH ME WHIP, WATCH ME NAY NAY
Despite only averaging 8.0 points per game in the conference schedule, Naomi Ashley has proven that she is more than just a defensive player. Ashley has recorded double-figure scoring for four games in a row (CCSU, RMU, SFU and FDU). On the boards, the fifth-year player led with 10 rebounds against FDU and was just two points shy of her second double-double of the year.  When Bryant traveled to Wagner, Ashley had a monster game scoring a career-high 28 points, marking the most points a Bulldog has scored this season. The Ontario native had an all around performance with five rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block in 39 minutes of play.

BOARDING SCHOOL
Bryant is second in the NEC with 40.92 rebounds per game and first in the conference with 14.0 offensive rebounds per game.  Holloway leads the Bulldogs and the conference with 293 rebounds ranking her 15th in the country. The junior forward also leads the conference with most offensive rebounds a game with four as she ranks eighth in the country in that category.

UP NEXT
Bryant stays in Brooklyn for the weekend to meet with LIU Brooklyn on Monday at 7 p.m.