Rucker leads Bulldogs past Vermont, 68-52, Saturday at home

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed a game-best 14 rebounds as the Bryant University women's basketball team earned its first victory of the season Saturday, defeating the University of Vermont, 68-52, at the Chace Athletic Center.

Rucker came into the game shooting only 4-for-11 from the field after the first two games of the young season, but the reigning NEC Player of the Year was sharp against the Catamounts (1-2), going 7-for-15 from the floor and helping spark a second-quarter surge that would give the Bulldogs (1-2) a lead they would not relinquish.

Bryant trailed only once in the first half following a nice drive in the lane by Vermont freshman Hayley Robertson that put the visiting Catamounts up, 9-8, midway through the opening quarter.

Bryant would answer with consecutive baskets from Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.), Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) and Rucker (3 assists, 3 steals) to push the Bulldogs back in front, 14-9, midway through the first. Vermont would stick around, though, as Kylie Atwood hit a 3-pointer from the left side to even the score 17-17 after one quarter of play. 

But Rucker took over from there, nailing three-straight baskets to ignite an 11-1 run by the Bulldogs to open the second quarter. And it wasn't just Rucker alone, as the Bulldog defense clamped down as well, causing several UVM turnovers and controlling the boards underneath.

A basket in the lane from Dani Anderson (Wellington, Kansas) gave Bryant its largest lead of the half, 32-20, but it was the defense that was the story as Bryant allowed only one Vermont field goal in the entire quarter (coming on a Courtney Wright layup with a second on the clock) to take a 36-24 lead into the locker room at the half.

In the second half, the Bulldogs never trailed, as Bailey -- scoring 10 of her season-high 15 points in the second half -- helped Bryant extend its lead to 60-42.

The Catamounts would mount one last push, using an 8-0 run highlighted by a three from Robertson (team-high 14 points) to pull back to within 10, 60-50. But on the next possession, Winder drilled a three of her own from the right baseline and the Bulldogs would never look back.

Bryant shot 38.1 percent from the floor in the game and held a 50-31 rebounding edge, including 18 coming on the offensive end. Winder and teammate Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) each had eight points, while Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) added seven points and six rebounds.

Bryant will hit the road Tuesday for a non-conference game at UMass Lowell and visit Holy Cross next Sunday, Nov. 29 before returning home to host Massachusetts Dec. 2 at 5:00 p.m.