Bulldogs battle Big Green Wednesday

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SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University women's basketball team will look to bounce back from an 11-point defeat in its last outing, traveling to the Granite State for a date with Ivy League foe Dartmouth College.

THE SERIES

Dartmouth has won all three meetings between both squads since the 2008-09 season.  The last win came in overtime last season, as the Big Green traveled to Smithfield, R.I. and needed an extra frame to come away with the win.

LAST TIME OUT

Two Bulldogs recorded double-doubles, but 27 turnovers plagued the Bryant University women's basketball team as it fell to Quinnipiac, 67-56, on the road.

The contest was a tale of two halfs for both teams. The first featured clean play through much of the frame and kept a tight score throughout, but neither side came out the same in the second, as Bryant and Quinnipiac went a combined 15-for-64 in the final 20 minutes and committing a combined 25 second-session turnovers.

Bryant came out of the intermission with four-straight turnovers, allowing the home side to extend its lead to 13 points, 46-33, less than two minutes in. The giveaways would grow to 21 giveaways in the first nine minutes of the frame, but less than 30 percent shooting and seven turnovers from the Quinnipiac ranks kept the margin consistent through the opening stretch. 

Junior Meredith Soper and sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa wound up posting double-doubles by virtue of their extraordinary efforts against the Bobcats.  Soper posted 14 points and hauled 14 boards, while Ankoma-Mensa topped that mark with one more point and one more rebound.

SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN

Dartmouth has split its last four contests (2-2), but has last two straight, including a 58-53 defeat at home against New Hampshire on Nov. 30.

After posting a 7-21 record in 2010-11, the Big Green return six letterwinners and have lost seven from last year's squad, including two starters.

Team captain Faziah Steen has led the way, starting all six games while dropping a team-high 16.0 ppg and averaging 4.7 boards per contest.  Tia Dawson, meanwhile, has hauled down a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game.  She has also been lights-out from the floor, averaging a 39.5 percent shooting clip through six games.

UP NEXT

Bryant hosts Lafayette College in its only other game this week, welcoming the Leopards on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 1 p.m.

SOPER STEALS THE SHOW

After seeing her scoring figures dip a bit over the first five games of the year, Meredith Soper came off the bench and ignited the home crowd at the 13-minute mark of the first half.

The Bay State native reeled off 11 straight points en route to a phenomenal 14-point first half, during which she hauled down an astounding eight rebounds and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.  She would finish the game with 20 points and 10 boards, becoming the first Bulldog to hit a double-double this year.Soper has now recorded back-to-back double-doubles after her 14-point, 14-board performance on the road against Quinnipiac in a losing effort on Dec. 3.

CAN'T CATCH KATIE

Over the last three games, Katie Whittington has been one of the key factors in Bryant's success.  In that stretch, she leads the team in scoring (12.7 ppg), assists (11), field-goal percentage (41.9 percent), three-point shooting (6-of-14, 42.9 percent) and free-throw percentage (75.0 percent).

CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME?

Bryant University Athletics offers more ways than ever before to watch, listen or follow your Bulldogs during all the action even when you can't make it to the court!  Head to www.bryantbulldogs.tv for information about single-game and season broadcasting packages, where you can watch state-of-the-art webcasts of the Bulldogs for most home games.  Live stats can be found at www.bryantbulldogs.com for every contest, and you can follow @BryantGameday on Twitter for live, in-game scoring updates throughout the season.