Bulldogs look for third-straight win Monday at Sacred Heart

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL VISITS SACRED HEART MONDAY, 7 P.M.

Watch: NECfrontrow.com
Live Stats: sacredheartpioneers.com
Follow along on Twitter: @BryantGameday

FULL GAME NOTES

ON TAP AT THE WILLIAM H. PITT CENTER       

The Bryant University women's basketball team will hit the road after a five-game homestand when it heads to Fairfield, Conn.  for a Monday night showdown with Sacred Heart. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the 16th meeting between the Bulldogs and the Pioneers and the eighth since Bryant joined the Division I ranks. Over the last four seasons, Sacred Heart holds a perfect 7-0 mark over the Black and Gold, including a 74-67 victory last February in Smithfield. The Bulldogs will look to snap the trend Monday night as they attempt to notch their third-straight victory.

LAST SEASON IN SMITHFIELD

Forward Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) had a career day with 23 points and 18 rebounds, but the Bryant University women's basketball team could not dig out of a 15-point halftime deficit, falling to Sacred Heart, 74-67, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 at the Chace Athletic Center.

Trailing by as many as 22 in the second half, the Bulldogs pushed the Pioneers to the brink with a late 20-13 run. Down by eight, 71-63, with 30 seconds left, Danielle Douglas (Silver Spring, Md.) canned two free throws and Brittany Stahura (Amsterdam, N.Y.) forced a Pioneer turnover to give the Bulldogs the ball back. On the ensuing inbound, the Black and Gold found Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) open but her long three hit the rim and the Pioneers grabbed the rebound.

Ankoma-Mensa's seventh double-double of the season was the most spectacular of her career. She finished with 23 points on 11-of-19 shooting and hauled down 18 caroms, helping the Bulldogs to a dominant 42-18 scoring advantage in the paint. Douglas and Steph Cardamone (Freehold, N.J.) both finished in double figures, with Douglas collecting 15 points thanks to 9-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe, and Cardamone adding 10 on 4-of-7 shooting.

Sacred Heart's Gabrielle Washington led all scorers with 27 points and Callan Taylor, Ericka Norman and Morgan Merriman all finished in double figures. Taylor finished with 17 points and eight rebounds and Merriman recorded a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

Sacred Heart enters Monday night with a 12-7 overall record, 4-3 in the Northeast Conference play. The Pioneers found their groove as a team over the winter session and that momentum as carried over into league action as they have won eight of their last 11, including three in a row dating back to Jan. 19. Most Recently, the Pioneers topped Monmouth, 56-42, at home on Saturday.

All-NEC Preseason selection Gabriell Washington leads her team in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per contest, including an impressive 94 percent from the free throw line. Senior Morgan Merriman and Kiley Evens each average double figures, while junior Enjoli Bland leads the Pioneers in rebounding, grabbing 6.2 boards a game. Sophomore Ericka Norman averages an impressive 7.3 assists per game and 3.8 steals per game, both tops in the NEC.

The Pioneers are an impressive 7-1 at the Pitt Center this season, holding opponents to an NEC-best 57.9 points per game.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs will hit the road for a pair of games in the Garden State as they head to Monmouth on Saturday (3 p.m.), before facing off with Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday (7 p.m.).