BULLDOGS LOOK FOR BACK-TO-BACK WINS OVER PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAMS, HOST HOLY CROSS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT 4 P.M.
Friday Dec. 17, 2010
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University women's basketball looks to keep up with its winning ways Sunday afternoon as they welcome the College of the Holy Cross to the Chace Athletic Center for a 4 p.m. matchup. The Bulldogs picked up their first home win of the season when they downed Colgate, 77-70, last Saturday.
THE SERIES
Today's game will be the fifth meeting all-time between the two programs as the Bulldogs have met the Crusaders every season since making the jump to Division I in 2008. Holy Cross currently holds a 3-0 lead in the series, dating back to the 1976-77 season. Last year at the Chace Athletic Center, then-junior Siamone Bennett registered a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds but the Bulldogs fell to the Crusaders, 57-45.
BRYANT LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Katie Whittington poured in a career-high 26 points, including seven 3-pointers, to lead the Bryant University women's basketball team past Colgate, 77-70, on Dec. 11 for the team's first home win of the season.
The Ohio native went 8-for-15 from the floor and 7-for-13 from long distance, including four treys in the second half, for a career-high 26 points. The most important three of the night for Whittington was her last, when the sophomore drilled her seventh 3-pointer with 2:00 remaining to give the Bulldogs a five point lead and the eventual victory.
Whittington added three assists and two steals while teammates Meredith Soper and Siamone Bennett also reached double-digit scoring with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Junior Brittany Stahura pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. As a team, the Bulldogs (2-7) shot 39 percent from field and won the battle for rebounds by a margin of 39-35. Colgate (5-6) was led by Jhazmine Lynch's 22 points as the Raiders shot 46 percent from the floor.
SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross is 4-5 on the season and is coming off a 98-45 loss to Boston College on Dec. 8 in Worcester, Mass. The Crusaders, members of the Patriot League, are averaging 63.8 points per game and allowing 74.8 ppg. Senior Whitney Fremeau leads the team with 12.3 points per game while freshman guard Alex Smith is averaging 11.3 ppg. Sophomore Amy Lepley is the team's top rebounder with 6.3 boards per contest.
HOLY CROSS LAST TIME OUT
Four players notched double-digit scoring affairs, including a team-high 16 points by senior Whitney Fremeau, but could not lead the Holy Cross women's basketball team to a victory over No. 25 Boston College, falling 98-64, at the Hart Center. With the loss, the Crusaders drop to a record of 4-5 on the season, while the Eagles pick up an unblemished 9-0 overall record. Fremeau hit three three-point shots in the game, collecting a career-high in three-point shots made.
BRYANT vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Bulldogs are currently 5-6 against members of the Patriot League since joining the Division I ranks in 2008. Four of those wins have come against Colgate, including Dec. 11 of this year for Bryant's first home win of the season, while the other Patriot League victory was over Lafayette last season. Having already played Lafayette and Colgate this year, the Bulldogs have one more matchup against the Patriot League after today when they play Army on Jan. 3.
TRIFECTA FROM TWINSBURG
Katie Whittington enjoyed a breakout performance in Bryant's 77-70 victory over Colgate on Dec. 11 as the sophomore drilled seven 3-pointers en route to a career-high 26 points. The Ohio native went 8-for-15 from the floor and 7-for-13 from long distance, including four treys in the second half. Her seven 3-pointer game is the best in the NEC this season and second-best in program history after Kelsey O'Keefe's eight-trey game against Robert Morris last season. Additionally, her 26-point effort is the sixth highest single-game scoring performance this season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Black and Gold rank near the top of the Northeast Conference in several statistical categories this season, starting with 64.3 points per game for the second best scoring average in the NEC, just behind Saint Francis (PA) at 70.3 ppg. Bryant ranks first in the conference with 18.56 offensive rebounds per game and boasts the second-best overall rebounding numbers with 44.1 boards per contest.
BLOCK PARTY
With 10 blocks in a total of nine games this season, senior Siamone Bennett has more rejections than the entire Holy Cross team (8). Bennett is ranked eighth in the NEC with 1.1 blocks per game and is the second-best shot-blocker in Bryant history with 115 career rejections.