Bulldogs face off against UMass Lowell Tuesday at 6 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - After recording their first victory of the 2015-16 season, the Bryant University women's basketball team carries its winning momentum into Lowell, taking on the River Hawks on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

ON TAP FOR 2015-16 SEASON
The Bryant University women's basketball team will look to work towards another record-breaking season and a return to the Northeast Conference Tournament for the fourth-straight year.

THE SERIES
This contest will mark the third meeting between the Bulldogs and River Hawks. Last years' contest came down to the wire, where Shannon Samuels' two made free throws put the River Hawks up one with nine seconds remaining. The Bulldogs last possession resulted in a missed jump shot by Ivory Bailey with one second on the clock, sealing the victory for the home team.

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
UMass Lowell enters the contest still on the quest for their first win of the season, after dropping the first three to Maryland, Central Connecticut and Columbia in their latest match.

The River Hawks are led offensively by sophomore forward Kayla Gibbs, who averages 15.7 points per game and put up her first double-double of the season against Columbia, logging 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Senior forward Lindsey Doucette dominates the boards for the River Hawks, pulling down an average of eight boards a game, while Gibbs has managed 7.5 rebounds per game.

Junior guard Nicole Hayer has scored double-digit points in each of the first three games, averaging 12.7 points per contest, while finding the majority of her opportunities from behind the arc. The 5'10 guard shot .500 percent from three-point land in the River Hawks' season opener against Maryland.

FOUR QUARTERS
Under the new NCAA rule, women's basketball has revised the game to four 10-minute quarters, instead of two 20-minute halves.

Thus far, the Bulldogs have dominated in the middle two quarters, holding opponents to an average of 17.125 points in those quarters vs. an average of 19.5 points in the first and fourth quarter respectively.

The Bulldogs gave up 39 points to Seton Hall in the first quarter, but held them to 14 in the fourth. The opposite story happened against Cornell, holding them to 15 in the first, but allowing 26 in the fourth.

Against Vermont, the Black and Gold prevented the Catamounts from scoring more than seven points in the second quarter, including only one made basket from the floor. In the fourth quarter, Vermont fought to within 10 of the Bulldogs, outscoring them 18-14, but the Bryant lead in the second quarter proved to be too much of a deficit for the Catamounts to claw back from.

BOUNDS BY THE POUND
One of the Bulldogs' biggest strength is their performance on the glass, both offensively and defensively. In the first match of the season, Bryant outrebounded Seton Hall by 15, with two players finishing in double digits. In the fourth quarter alone, the Bulldogs grabbed 10 offensive boards, with senior Breanna Rucker leading the way. Junior Morgan Olander finished the game with 10 total rebounds, while Rucker ripped down 12. Olander has recorded two double-digit rebounding games, while Rucker has managed double-digit rebounds in all three contests, including a season-high 14 against Vermont.

Even the guards are impactful on the glass, with senior shooting guard Tiersa Winder averaging 4.3 and sophomore guard Ivory Bailey with 4.7 per game. The Bulldogs finished as a team with 47 rebounds in their season opener on the road against Seton Hall, 42 in their home opener against Cornell, and a season-high of 50 against Vermont. In their latest match, the Bulldogs outrebounded the Catamounts by 19, including 10 on the offensive glass and nine defensively. The Black and Gold currently outrebound their competitors by 15.3 boards per game.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
After recording 22 double-doubles in the 2014-15 campaign, Rucker got back to her old ways, finding her first double-double of the 2015-16 season in the Bulldogs' last match against Vermont. The power forward racked up 14 boards, 10 of which came on the defensive end, while also equating 21 points, after shooting 7-15 from the floor and 7-9 from the line.

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
In their last contest, the Bulldogs held the Catamounts to only seven points in the second period, with all but two of those points coming from the line. In similar fashion Vermont was only capable of putting up 10 points in the third quarter against the Bulldog defense. The Black and Gold have captured 76 total defensive rebounds, averaging 25.3 per game and placing them first in the NEC. The Bryant defense was able to hold Seton Hall to a period-low 14 points in the fourth quarter, while also only allowing Cornell 14 points in the second quarter.

A TEAM OF FIRSTS
The Bulldogs sit atop a number of Northeast Conference charts, just two weeks into the season. Bryant sits in first place in free-throw percentage (.759), shooting 44-58 as a team. The Bulldogs also rank No. 1 in the conference in average offensive rebounds (21), defensive boards (25.3) and rebounding margin (+15.3).

THE STARTING FIVE
Returning to Bryant's starting lineup is reigning NEC Player of the Year Breanna Rucker and NEC Rookie of the Year Ivory Bailey. Joining them is center Morgan Olander and shooting guard Tiersa Winder, all of which started for the Bulldogs last year. The question mark in the starting lineup is at the point guard position. Junior Chanel Ramcharran came off the bench against Seton Hall and provided the leadership the Bulldogs needed. Although, against Cornell, freshman Kierra Palmer went 4-6 from downtown and helped mount the Bulldogs' comeback in the third quarter.

THE CENTER
Morgan Olander made 30 appearances last season, starting in all of them as the Bulldogs' center. The forward has been instrumental in the Bryant defense, seizing 240 defensive boards, while recording 28 steals and 36 blocks last season. Olander is instrumental offensively, scoring double-digit points on 19 occasions, including a season high of 19 against LIU Brooklyn (Jan. 26). The center averaged 6.7 points for the Bulldogs in their first three games of the season, while grabbing the team's second highest 8.7 rebounds per game.

CONSISTENT
Winder returns to the starting five, coming off a standout junior season, where she started all 31 games for the Black and Gold, sitting just behind Rucker for total points on the season, with 455. The versatile guard also dished out 61 assists, including a game-high of four on six different occasions. Winder put up the second highest points for the Bulldogs against Seton Hall, totaling 11 points on 14 shot attempts. The guard also managed seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Winder hit three threes against Cornell and went 100% from the line, finishing with 11 points in the contest.

DOMINANT
Breanna Rucker is coming off a dominant 2014-15 season, where she ranked top 20 in the nation in rebounds and double-doubles, with 22 in 31 games.  The power forward found her first double-double of the 2015-16 season against Vermont, pulling down 14 rebounds, while managing 21 points. This season, the senior is averaging 11.7 rebounds per game and 13.3 points per game. The 5-11 forward has recorded19 defensive rebounds and leads the Northeast Conference with 16 offensive rebounds this year. Rucker leads the Bulldogs in offensive efficiency, shooting 42.3% from the floor (11-26) and 85.7% from the line (18-21) in her 93 minutes of play.

THE GO-TO
Ivory Bailey is the Bulldogs' leading scorer through the first three games of the season, averaging 187points per game. The 5-7 guard put up a season-high 21 points on the road against Seton Hall, while 15 points in each of Bryant's home games. In an average of 36 minutes per game, Bailey is averaging 2.7 assists per game, 4.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.2% from the floor and 36.8% from behind the arc.

FROM THREE
Against Cornell, Bryant went 5-8 (62.5%) from downtown, led by the efforts of freshman Kierra Palmer, who hit four of her six attempts from three-point land.

Last season the Bulldogs shot 29.1% from three in their 31 games, finding that even if they were not on from downtown, they could still battle it out under the basket and come out with a win. With the addition of Palmer this season, the Black and Gold may be looking at even greater success from behind the arc. Last season, the team attempted 602 three-pointers, while their opponents were held to 515.

Already this season, the Black and Gold have put up 67 threes in three games, finding success on 19 occasions. The Bulldogs shot a season-best .417 percent from three-point land against Vermont.

RECORD SETTING 2014-15 SEASON
For the first time in program history, the Bulldogs finished as NEC Regular-Season Champions, completing the regular season with a program's best 21-8 and 13-3 in the conference. The NEC Quarterfinal was played against #7 Mount St. Mary's, where the Black and Gold won, 76-54. The Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals for the second year in a row, where they faced #3 Robert Morris, losing 68-62, and resulting in a 22-9 overall record and 14-4 in the NEC.