Bulldogs close road trip at CCSU, Sat. 1 p.m.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL VIES FOR FIRST NEC WIN, SATURDAY AT CCSU (1 P.M.)

FULL GAME NOTES
Watch: NECfrontrow.com
Live Stats: CCSUBlueDevils.com
Follow along on Twitter: @BryantGameday

ON TAP AT DETRICK GYMNASIUM

The Bryant University women's basketball team will look to snap its four-game skid when it heads to Central Connecticut State on Saturday, Jan. 12 for a 1 p.m. match-up with the Blue Devils. The contest with be the first leg of a doubleheader in New Britain, Conn, as the men face-off at 3:30 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the ninth matchup between the two programs (tied, 4-4), after meeting at least once in each of the last four seasons. Last year, the two teams split a pair of contests, with Bryant winning on the road in New Britain, Conn., 68-62, on Dec. 28, while CCSU stole one in Smithfield, 75-62, on Jan. 23. Entering Saturday's action, both teams will be looking to secure their first Northeast Conference victory of the 2012-13 season.

LAST SEASON IN SMITHFIELD

The Bryant University women's basketball dropped a 75-62 decision against Central Connecticut on Jan. 23, as the Bulldogs fell for the first time in back-to-back games in 2011-12 at the Chace Athletic Center.

Trailing by four at the half, Bryant managed to tie the game with 15:33 to play in regulation. But from that point on, the Blue Devils outscored the home side by a 32-19 margin to close out the contest.

Bryant allowed the visitors to shoot a season-high 54.9 percent from the field on 28-of-51 shooting, highlighted by a 28-point outing from Jaclyn Babe, who finished the day 9-of-17 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Two other Blue Devils recorded double-digit scoring, as Bailey Brooke (18) and Kaley Watras (11) led the way for Central.

On the home side, three players finished the afternoon within a point of one another with Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) dropping a team-high 17 points, just ahead of Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) and Katie Whittington's (Twinsburg, Ohio) 16 points apiece. Ankoma-Mensa mustered a game-high 10 boards while registering Bryant's lone rejection of the day.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS

The Blue Devils enter Saturday's showdown with a 6-7 overall mark, 0-2 in Northeast Conference play. Similar to Bryant, Central Connecticut endured the Pennsylvania road-trip over the weekend, falling to Robert Morris, 65-48, on Saturday before dropping a tough, 67-62, decision to Saint Francis U. on Monday.

Senior Jaclyn Babe leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 16.8, ranking her third in the NEC and steals at 3.2 per game, while her sister, junior Jessica Babe, tops the team in rebounding (6.5/g) and assists (4.1/g).

Central currently ranks fifth in scoring in the NEC (58.3), third in points allowed (61.5) and sixth in field goal percentage (37 percent). Selected to finish in eighth in the NEC Preseason Poll (one spot ahead of Bryant), the Blue Devils will certainly look to get back on track with a win over the Bulldogs Saturday afternoon.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs will continue Northeast Conference play when they host Quinnipiac on Monday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. This marks the first of a five game homestand that will last until Jan. 28.