Bryant hosts SHU on Play4Kay Night

BULLDOGS BATTLE PIONEERS TO CAP OFF RIVALRY WEEK

Full Game Notes
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SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University women's basketball team concludes NEC Rivalry Week on Wednesday night against first-place Sacred Heart. The Bulldogs will be looking to bounce back from a 15-point defeat in the first game of the New England Knockout home-and-home series, as the Pioneers caught fire late in the game to come away with a 79-64 victory on Saturday at the Pitt Center.

SERIES HISTORY

In a series that dates all the way back to February of 1981, the Bulldogs and Pioneers have squared off 15 times, and Sacred Heart holds an 8-7 advantage in the all-time series. Starting with a 71-63 win back on Feb. 2, 1981, the Bulldogs won the first four games against Sacred Heart and went 7-2 in their first nine before a long hiatus from 1993 to 2008.

Since joining the Division I ranks and reigniting the rivalry between both schools, the Bulldogs have not enjoyed the same success they did in their Division II days. Bryant is 0-6 against Sacred Heart since 2008, including an 0-2 mark at the Chace Athletic Center.

LAST TIME OUT 

Despite holding an eight-point lead in the first half, the Bryant University women's basketball team could not hold on against first-place Sacred Heart, falling, 79-64, on Saturday afternoon at the Pitt Center.

The Bulldogs (13-11, 6-7 Northeast Conference) managed to erase an early 10-point deficit and held a 33-25 lead with 30 seconds to play in the first half, but the Pioneers (18-6, 11-2) NEC nearly doubled up the visitors in the second half to retain their lead in the conference and take the first leg of a home-and-home series that will conclude next week.

Both teams stormed out of the gate to start the second frame, but after both teams were even at 49-49 with 12:47 to play, the Pioneers would outscore Bryant by a 30-15 margin through the remainder of the game.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

Boasting three winning streaks of at least four games or more, the Pioneers soared out of the gate to a 9-1 start to the season and currently stand at 18-6 with an 11-2 mark in the NEC that has them atop the conference. Before Saturday's win over Bryant, however, Sacred Heart had come down to earth with a 3-2 record in its last five that had allowed its first-place cushion in the conference to shrink to just one game.

Senior forward Callan Taylor has been a big reason for the Pioneers' success. The 6-foot guard leads her team and ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (16.8 ppg), hauls in 9.9 rebounds per game (2nd in NEC) and hardly misses from the field with a 50.2 percent field goal percentage (160-for-320), also good for second best in the conference.

After her, freshman Gabrielle Washington has certainly given fans a reason to believe that the future is bright after the graduation of Taylor. The Rookie of the Year candidate is the only other player to average double figures (11.2 ppg), and she was dominant in the Pioneers' win over Bryant on Saturday, pacing both sides with a game-high 21 points.

Sacred Heart leads the league in all shooting categories, including field goal percentage (.417), free throw percentage (.770) and three-point shooting (.331). No other team in the conference plays better defense than the Pioneers (55.8 ppg allowed), and their +9.2 scoring margin on the season leads the league by 2.9 points. 

TONIGHT IS PLAY 4 KAY

All fans wearing pink at tonight's game will receive half-price admission to the game with a portion of the proceeds going to support the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, a charitable organization committed to cancer research. The first 200 fans will get a free Rally Towel along with free Bulldog wristbands.  There will be various contests held throughout the game and cotton candy is available at the concessions stand. 

LAST YEAR AGAINST THE PIONEERS

Jan. 15, 2011 - at Sacred Heart (54-44 loss)

Sophomore Meredith Soper scored 12 points and added seven rebounds but the Bryant University women's basketball team could not hold off a late second half surge by Sacred Heart as the Bulldogs fell, 54-44, Saturday afternoon in Northeast Conference action at the William H. Pitt Center.

Callan Taylor led the way offensively for the Pioneers as the junior scored a game-high 26 points and 16 rebounds for the double-double, including 11 points in the final eight minutes to give the home side the late advantage and eventual victory.

Sophomore Danielle Douglas added nine points for the visitors while senior Siamone Bennett grabbed eight boards. As a team, Bryant shot 35.6 percent from the floor on 16-for-45 shooting while Sacred Heart shot 27.8 from the field.   

Feb. 19, 2011 - at Bryant (74-54 loss)

After neck-and-neck play midway through the first half, Sacred Heart picked up the offense and never looked back as the Bryant University women's basketball team fell to the Pioneers, 74-54, in Northeast Conference play Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

Sophomore Danielle Douglas provided a bulk of the scoring for the Bulldogs as she netted 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor and added three steals. As a team, Bryant shot 34.5 percent from the field and outrebounded the Pioneers by a margin of 38-35.  

Erika Norman paced Sacred Heart with a game-high 19 points while Maggie Cosgrove and Alexis Campbell added 17 and 11, respectively. 

OFF THE MARK

The Bulldogs recorded a new single-game low in shooting against LIU Brooklyn on Feb. 6 after going just 13-for-60 from the field (.217) and 2-for-9 (.222) from long range. Bryant dropped that game by a 50-41 margin, and those 41 points marked a season low in scoring.

NOT FEELIN' THE 40s

Bryant has been held to 40-49 points on four occasions this season, and the end result has not been positive in any of them. The Bulldogs are 0-4 on the year when scoring between 40-49 points. 

TAKE AWAY THE 20s, TOO!

The Bulldogs are 1-4 on the season when posting a shooting percentage less than 30 percent. The only victory in which the team logged a shooting percentage in the 20s was 55-49 win over Monmouth on Jan. 28.

NOT ALWAYS AUTOMATIC

Before Saturday's game against the Pioneers, the Bulldogs were an impressive 7-1 on the season when logging a shooting percentage in the 40s, and a perfect 4-0 when four players scored in double figures. But despite four players recording 10 points or more, and despite shooting 41.5 percent as a team (22-of-53) against Sacred Heart, the Bulldogs were stymied in a 79-64 defeat.

SLUMPING SHOOTERS

While the Bulldogs were never a high-percentage shooting team at any point this season, the past few games have taken their toll on the team's shooting percentage. In the last five games, the Bulldogs have shot 88-for-278 (.317) from the field and an even lower 16-for-70 (.267) from long range. During that span, Bryant has fallen to 12th in the conference while still remaining last in the league at free throw shooting (.641).

REDEMPTION FROM LONG RANGE

Since shooting a respectable 4-for-13 (.308) from downtown against CCSU on Jan. 23, the Bulldogs had gone a woeful 7-for-45 (.155) over the ensuing four games from long range. But Bryant bounced back with an impressive 9-of-15 (.600) clip from downtown in its loss on Saturday. Those numbers marked new season highs in both made three-pointers and 3-point shooting percentage.

SHE'S HEATING UP

Bulldog junior guard Danielle Douglas, the team's lead returning scorer from a year ago, has reclaimed that honor with a team-leading 56 points in her last five games. She is the only player in that span to average double digits (11.2 ppg), and since January, the Silver Spring, Md., native leads all Bryant players with 153 points in 11 games (12.8 ppg). Douglas did come back down to Earth with just four points against the Pioneers on Saturday.

WHITTINGTON AMONG THE ELITE

Junior Katie Whittington has been dominant from the stripe this season. The NEC's leading free throw shooter has shot 76-for-85 (.894) from the line. Those numbers rank among the best in the country, as Whittington currently sits in sixth place in the NCAA in free throw shooting.

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