Women look for first win against Colonials

Bryant women look for first win against RMU Colonials

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Date: Monday, Jan. 9, 2012
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Chace Athletic Center, Smithfield, R.I.
Watch: www.bryantbulldogs.tv

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University women's basketball team continues Northeast Conference competition fresh off arguably one of the program's biggest victories since joining Division I, as the Bulldogs face off against Robert Morris on Monday evening at the Chace Athletic Center.

THE SERIES

The Colonials own a 3-0 all-time record against the Bulldogs dating back to the 2008-09 season. RMU won the inaugural meeting at theSewall Center, 91-80, on Feb. 2, 2009. The Colonials also won the only meeting between both schools held at the Chace Athletic Center, a 74-72 decision on Feb. 13, 2010.  That game marked the closest the Bulldogs ever came to knocking off RMU, as the other two contests were won by at least 11 points.

LAST TIME OUT: BULLDOGS STUN TWO-TIME NEC CHAMPIONS

Tied at 49 points apiece with less than three minutes to play, Bryant caught fire and ran away from the preseason Northeast Conference favorite Saint Francis University, earning a 57-52 victory on Jan. 7 at the Chace Athletic Center.

Down by six points after the intermission, the Bulldogs outscored the two-time defending conference champion Red Flash by a 35-24 margin, handing SFU its first conference loss of the season while moving an unprecedented four games above .500 for the first time in the program's Division I history.

Bulldog sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa was marvelous for the Black and Gold, registering a team-high nine points in the second half while finishing the afternoon with 17 points – three off her career high - and a personal-best six steals, while junior Danielle Douglas contributed 12 points to lead the home team. 

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS

Coming off a 14-point victory at Central Connecticut State that saw five players score in double-digits, Robert Morris will look to stay unbeaten both against the Bulldogs and in conference play with a win this evening.

Picked No. 2 in the conference preseason coaches' poll, the Colonials' victory over CCSU on Saturday marked a trio of firsts this season. Robert Morris won for the first time this year on the road; when trailing at halftime; and when being outrebounded.

Sophomore Artemis Spanou was named to the preseason All-NEC team and has lived up to the billing picking up two double-doubles so far this season.  She ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (15.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (9.7 rpg).  Three other Colonials average double-digit scoring, with senior Mary Durojaye (12.4 ppg) and juniors Briannica Tye (12.0) and April Williams (11.3) making plenty of noise for Robert Morris this year.

32-year veteran Sal Buscaglia has commandeered the Colonials for nine seasons, and boasts an impressive coaching resume with over 600 wins - including a 151-108 record in eight previous seasons at RMU.

LAST YEAR AGAINST THE COLONIALS

Despite back-to-back scores from Danielle Douglas to chip the lead down to one point in the second half, the scoring attack of Robert Morris proved to be too much to handle for Bryant, as the Bulldogs fell, 64-45, on Feb. 7, 2011.

Bryant was led offensively by Meredith Soper's 14 points and eight rebounds while freshman Naana Ankoma-Mensa added eight points and nine boards. The Bulldogs outrebounded the home side by a margin of 42-40 while 19 of those boards were of the offensive variety.    

Robert Morris was paced by the combination of Jasmine Tate, who tied a school record with eight steals, and Artemis Spanou, who poured in a career-high 23 points, including 20 in the second half. As a team, the Colonials shot 47.2 percent from the floor and 60 percent from the field in the second half on 15-for-25 shooting.      

HOME AFTER THE HOLIDAYS

After playing just one game within the friendly confines of the Chace Athletic Center in the month of December and after playing eight of its first 12 games this season on the road, Bryant will finally get to spend some time in Smithfield in the coming weeks.

Bryant opened up a span of seven home games in nine contests with a win over Army to start off the New Year, and followed that up with a remarkable win over preseason NEC favorite Saint Francis in its last outing.  The Bulldogs will make their only road trip of the month next weekend when they take on Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 14) and Wagner (Jan. 16), but after that the team will open a season-long four-game home streak that will take them through the end of the month.

The Bulldogs have posted a 5-1 record at the Chace this year, and are 26-16 in Smithfield since the start of the 2008-09 season.  Last year, Bryant went 7-6 with a 5-4 mark against NEC teams within the friendly confines of The Chace.

HAVE A DAY, NAANA

While difficult to single out an individual effort in Bryant's resounding victory over Saint Francis, sophomore Naana Ankoma-Mensa could have a go at that honor by virtue of her 17-point, seven-rebound outing against the Red Flash.

The Brampton, Ont., native has been remarkable in her sophomore campaign for the Bulldogs, and the post player has elevated her game in the last three outings.  She leads all players with 51 points (17.0 ppg) dating back to Bryant's loss at Columbia on Dec. 30, 2011.  The sophomore also came up with a career high six steals in Saturday's win against SFU.

WONDERFUL WHITTINGTON

For the second time this season, junior Katie Whittington managed to go a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in one game, accomplishing the feat on a second occasion in Bryant's victory over Army on Jan. 3.

The Twinsburg, Ohio native first hit that prolific mark during the Bulldogs' tough loss at Holy Cross on Dec. 21.  Whittington's 10-for-10 free-throw clip marked one of the few bright spots in the game for the Bulldogs.

Whittington's 87.5 percent success rate at the foul line is second to none in the Northeast Conference.  She has converted 56 tries in 64 attempts at the charity stripe this season.

THE TREY GOES SILENT

Coming into Saturday's game against Saint Francis, Bryant owned one of the top three-point shooting marks in the league, but the Bulldogs sputtered from beyond the arc on Saturday, mustering just a 1-of-15 clip with the lone long ball coming from junior Katie Whittington.

Despite going 1-of-7 from three-point land, Whittington still holds one of the team's top long-range clips, going 25-of-77 (32.5 %) on the year.  Sophomore Courtney Schissler's smaller sample size of 16-of-38 shooting is good for a 42.1 percent mark, an impressive mark as well.

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 full- season broadcasting packages, where you can watch 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 score updates.