WBB takes on Colgate in season opener

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SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Led by 21^st-year head coach Mary Burke, the Bryant University women's basketball team kicks off the 2011-12 campaign Friday night at Colgate University.  Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs are entering their fourth season competing at the Division I level, and this year marks the program's final season of reclassification before being eligible for postseason competition in 2012-13.  Last season, Bryant finished with a 10-19 overall record, including a 7-11 Northeast Conference mark that was good for an eighth-place finish in the league.

THE SERIES

The Bulldogs and Raiders head into Friday night's season-opener having met four times since the 2008 season - Bryant's first year as a Division I program.  The Bulldogs hold a commanding 4-0 lead in the all-time series, with each win coming by at least seven points. Most recently, Bryant came away with a 77-70 victory in Smithfield on Dec. 11, 2010.

MEET THE 2011-12 BULLDOGS

With a strong nucleus of players returning from last year's 10-win squad, the Bulldogs bring back a whopping 11 letterwinners, with four starters included in that group. Add that to the fact that the program lost just one starter, and the Black and Gold appear set for a memorable season with over 76 percent of last year's offense returning to the court in 2011-12.

Leading the way is sophomore Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.), who led the team in scoring last year (10.7 ppg) and also finished first in steals (65), ranking fourth in the NEC with 2.24 steals per game.  The Maryland native dropped a career-high 19 points on two occasions in 2010-11 and was also named to the Air Force All-Tournament Team.

Classmate Meredith Soper (Winthrop, Mass.) represents the team's leading rebounder from last season, and the guard will be a pivotal part of the Bulldogs' lineup again.  The junior finished third on the team in scoring last year, while posting a team-high four double-doubles.  She also led the team with a 32.8 percent clip from beyond the arc.

Joining Douglas and Soper in the backcourt will be junior Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) and sophomore Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.)  Whittington averaged 6.0 ppg last year, and led the team in free-throw shooting with an 81.6 percent success rate.  Bailey returns having posted 4.1 ppg and a 39.4 shooting percentage, which ranks second-best among returners.

Down low, Burke will look to the lone senior on the Bulldogs in Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.).  One year after hauling down 5.0 rebounds per game, Stahura also represents the team's top returner in field goal percentage (40.4 percent).  Assisting her in the paint will be sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.), who was among the team leaders with 5.7 rebounds per game in 2010-11.

Off the bench, Burke will have a breadth of options in sophomores Demetria Bell (Braintree, Mass.), Steph Cardamone (Freehold, N.J.), Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) and Mary Kate Tierney (Rochester, N.Y.), while freshmen Leigha Tacey (Foxboro, Mass.) and Breanna Wellere (Hazel Crest, Ill.) join the Bulldogs for their rookie campaigns.

LAST YEAR IN SMITHFIELD

Last year against Colgate, Whittington poured in a career-high 26 points, including seven 3-pointers, to lead the Bulldogs to a 77-70 victory on Dec. 11, 2010 at Chase Gymnasium. The win marked Bryant's first victory of the season at home. Whittington 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.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS

The Raiders are coming off 7-22 season, and have brought in new head coach Nicci Hays Fort to helm the program for the upcoming season. Fort comes from from DePaul University, where she helped lead the Blue Demons to the NCAA Tournament five times, which includes a Sweet 16 appearance and a top-10 national ranking.

Among Colgate's top returners are senior Tricia Oakes, who finished fifth on the team averaging 6.9 points per game and fourth in rebounding with 4.0 per game last season.  Junior Jhazmine Lynch was one of two Raiders in double figures, averaging 11.4 points per game and finishing second in the Patriot League with 2.3 steals per game.  Sophomore Lauren Kobiela started 17 games as a freshman last season and finished sixth in the Patriot League averaging 2.6 assists per game.

A LOOK AHEAD

The Bulldogs will play a 29-game schedule for the second time in as many seasons, with 18 of those contests played against NEC schools. Of Bryant's 11 non-conference tilts, four are against Patriot League teams—the most of any other conference—with the next-closest conference being the Ivy League, from which the Bulldogs take on three teams this year.  The remaining four games are one each against the America East (Maine), ACC (Boston College), the Atlantic 10 (Rhode Island) and the MAAC (Iona). Bryant has played the Patriot League more times than any other conference during its first three seasons at the DI level, going 6-7 in 13 games against the conference.

For continuing coverage of Bryant University women's basketball, check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com, and be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.