#8 Bulldogs visit #1 Quinnipiac in NEC Quarters Sunday

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HEADS TO QUINNIPIAC FOR NEC QUARTERFINAL SHOWDOWN, SUNDAY AT 2 P.M.

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

FULL GAME NOTES

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The Bryant University women's basketball team will head to Hamden, Conn., for the second times in just as many weeks for a Northeast Conference Quarterfinal showdown with Quinnipiac, Sunday at 2 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the tenth (first DI playoff) matchup between the two teams since Bryant joined the Division I ranks in 2008. Quinnipiac currently leads the series, 7-2, including two double-digit wins over the Bulldogs this season. 

EARLIER THIS SEASON IN HAMDEN, CONN.

Despite bringing it within just four points with two minutes to play, the Bryant University women's basketball came up just short against Quinnipiac, 74-61, Monday night at the TD Bank SportsCenter.

With 9:44 left on the clock, a 5-0 Bryant run sliced the Quinnipiac lead to just 15, 60-45. The Bulldogs continued to fight, bringing it within 14 points, 62-48, thanks to some inspired play from freshman Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio). But time was against the Black and Gold as just under minutes remained in the contest.

Bryant rose to the occasion stymying the Quinnipiac attack and capitalizing on turnovers, bringing themselves within just seven points, 63-56, with 4:38 left.

A 10-0 Bulldog run lasting nearly five minutes cut the hosts advantage to just five points, 63-58, with just under four minutes remaining in the game. A Jasmine Martin layup at 3:21 granted Quinnipiac a seven-point edge, but a Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) And-one answered for the visitors, bringing them within four points with 2:22 remaining. Quinnipiac responded with a Camryn Warner triple as the lead was boosted back to seven.

The Bulldogs were unable to convert down the stretch as Quinnipiac held on to squeak out a 74-61 victory.
Senior Danielle Douglas (Silver Springs, Md.) paced Bryant with 16 points and three assists, while junior Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ont.) put up nine points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes. Rucker continued her strong play posting 10 points and eight rebounds. Winder and junior Courtney Schissler (Branford, Conn.) added eight and even points, respectively, off the bench.

Warner and Martin lead Quinnipiac with 17 points apiece, while Felicia Barron put up 15 points and a whopping eight steals.
After a slow start on both ends, the Bobcats began to find their stride, opening up a 15-6 advantage at the 11:30 mark of the first half. Despite the mini-run by the hosts, the Quinnipiac attack was halted by some stingy Bulldog defense as both teams struggled offensively through the eight-minute.

A pair of back-to-back 3-pointers from Barron pushed the Bobcat lead to 15, 26-11, but Bryant was able to keep it close, cutting the deficit to 12 with under four minutes to play until the halftime break. The Black and Gold were able to bring it within just nine points, 24-33, until a barrage of trifectas from the Bobcats extended the lead all the way up to 16. The Bulldogs closed the half with a bucket from Douglas to put themselves within striking distance, 40-26, heading into the locker room.
Douglas paced Bryant with eight points and a pair of assists, while Schissler added seven off the bench. Barron led all scorers at the break with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with Warner posting nine points in 13 minutes of play. Neither team shot exceptionally well in the opening frame with Bryant putting up a 35 percent clip, while Quinnipiac finished the half at 47 percent (14-30), 75 percent from 3-point land, after starting just 5-for-15 from the field.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS

The Bobcats enter Sunday's action boasting an impressive 27-2 overall mark, a perfect 18-0 in Northeast Conference play. Quinnipiac has rattled off 19-straight victories, including a 73-54 win over St. Francis Brooklyn in its regular season finale Monday night.

Senior Felicia Barron leads the balanced Bobcats with 14 points and 3.6 steals per game, while sophomore Jasmine Martin puts up 13.1 ppg. Junior Brittany McQuain averages 11.6 ppg and leads the Bobcats on the glass at 8.2 rebounds per game. Interestingly enough, seven players on Quinnipiac average more than 19 minutes per game, but not one plays more than 28 mpg.

The Bobcats lead or rank near the top in almost every statistical cateogry in the NEC including points per game, points per game allowed, field goal percentage, assists, steals and 3-point percentage. The #1 seeded Bobcats have not lost since their Dec. 29 matchup at Georgia Tech.

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK

Quarterfinals - Sun. Mar. 10

#8 Bryant at #1 Quinnipiac

#7 St. Francis Brooklyn at #2 Sacred Heart

#3 Mount St. Mary's at #3 Monmouth

#5 CCSU at #4 Saint Francis U

Semifinals - Wed. Mar. 13

Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed

2nd Highest remaining seed vs. 2nd Lowest Remaining Seed

Championship - Sun. Mar. 17

Championship Game: 5:00 pm on ESPNU

BULLDOGS NEC TOURNAMENT BOUND

After starting their Northeast Conference season with an 0-5 record, the Bulldogs finished the season winning eight of their final 13 games to earn their first ever Division I postseason berth. In their first season of DI postseason eligibility, the Bulldogs overcame multiple injuries and setbacks to clinch the 8th and final seed in the 2013 NEC Tournament.