Hot shooting leads Bryant past UMass Lowell, 83-64, Tuesday night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With their best offensive performance this season, the Bryant University women's basketball team reaches .500, after defeating UMass Lowell, 83-64, on the road on Tuesday evening.

The Bulldogs (2-2) shot 54 percent from the floor, 56 percent from three and 87 percent from the free throw line in the dominating victory over the River Hawks (0-4).

Three Bulldogs reached double-digit points led by senior Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio) who recorded her second double-double of the season on 20 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.

Senior Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) recorded a team-high 21 points on the night, while Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.) found her third-straight game with 15 points.

The Bulldogs kicked off the action with a Winder layup off of Rucker's win on the tip off. Junior Chanel Ramcharran (Pickering, Ont.) sparked the Bryant scoring from downtown by hitting a three to go up, 5-0, at the start of the game. Winder and Rucker each followed suit, placing the Bulldogs 3-3 from behind the arc at the first media timeout.

Winder wasted no time, hitting yet another three in the Bulldogs' opening possession after the media timeout. The River Hawks found an answer, trading threes, after Nicole Hayner hit one from behind the arc in their pursuing possession.

The Black and Gold began to pick up their defense in the second quarter, holding Lowell to 14 points, while the Bulldogs put up 23 to send them into the half up 43-35. In the second period, senior Maureen Leahy (Springfield, Pa.) denied two River Hawks' attempts, recording her first two blocks of the season on great help defense.

At the media timeout in the second quarter, the two competitors were tied 28-28, before Ramcharran scored the Bulldogs next six points off a three-pointer and a trio of free throws.

Kayla Gibbs went on a similar roll, scoring six-straight points for the River Hawks and helping to keep the home team in the match, with the score set at 33-30 after Gibss' layup nearing the end of the first half. It wasn't until late in the second quarter that the Bulldogs sent Gibbs to the line, where she executed, leaving the score 38-35.

Winder dominated the third quarter, scoring nine points in the period. The guard wasted no time, with an early three-pointer and a mid-range step back, as the Bulldogs began to pull away from the home team. Bryant advanced the lead to nine (56-45) – the largest lead of the night up to that point – when Winder drove and finished left handed under an pressure from three defenders.

Lowell continued to find a way to get there shooters involved, with Hayner and Melissa Frase combining for 6-13 on the game from behind the arc. Hayner hit one from downtown off a give-and-go to help keep the River Hawks in the game.

Rucker hit her second and-one of the game off an offensive rebound midway through the third quarter to put the Bulldogs up by 11. The forward's three points added to the Bulldogs' 7-0 run, putting the River Hawks on a four-minute dry spell.

After two turnovers from each team, the Black and Gold were able to break the trend, when Winder hit an easy bucket for the Bulldogs. The visitors showed their defensive identity by forcing the River Hawks into a shot clock violation and another turn over that translated in two points by Bailey to put the Bulldogs up, 61-48.

Heading into the fourth, the Bulldogs had 15-point commanding lead and they continued to build on the momentum, finding their largest lead of the night – 20 points – on a Rucker layup with just under two minutes to play in the game. Again, Bryant relied on its strength of defense to seal the victory, allowing the River Hawks to score only 12 points, while grabbing 11 rebounds in the fourth quarter.

Dani Anderson (Wellington, Kan.) came off the bench to hit a three, while Emma Sobieraski (Lockport, N.Y.) added a two-pointer with seconds left on the clock to solidify the 83-64 Bryant victory.

The Bulldogs travel next to Worcester to face Holy Cross on Sunday, November 29 at 3:05 p.m., following the Crusaders' men's basketball game.