Massachusetts visits Smithfield in first-ever Division I meeting Wednesday at 5 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Coming off a one-point loss to Holy Cross, the Bryant University women's basketball team returns to Smithfield to take on Massachusetts in the first-ever meeting between the two schools on Wednesday, December 2, at 5 p.m.

THE SERIES
This contest will mark the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Minutewomen in Division I play. Massachusetts is looking for their second win of the season, after four-straight nonleague losses, while the Bulldogs are looking to reach .500 again.

SCOUTING THE MINUTEWOMEN
This season the Minutewomen have lost their last four contests against Harvard (67-65), Buffalo (56-48), Colorado (90-63) and Ball State (81-54). Massachusetts has found their only win of the year thus far at Holy Cross, beating the Crusaders 74-60.

The Minutewomen play a predominately young lineup, starting underclassmen in four of their five spots.

Freshman guard Bria Stallworth leads the Minutewomen offensively, averaging 15 points per game, while shooting .397 from the floor, .368 from three and .909 from the line.

Senior Rashida Timbilla is a force on the glass, grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game, including a total of 44 in her five starts for Massachusetts. The veteran is shooting .429 from the floor for an average of eight points per game.

THE QUEST FOR 1,000
Breanna Rucker is on the brink of her 1,000th career point, with seven points to go before she reaches the milestone.

As a junior, Rucker scored 504 points, finishing the season shooting 47.6% from the floor, 39.2% from three and 76.1% from the foul line. The senior nailed a career-high 29 threes and 121 free throws last season.

Each season, Rucker has increased her shooting percentage and points total, scoring 123 points in her freshman season and 297 as a sophomore.

The veteran currently ranks fourth on the program's Division I scoring leaderboard, with the potential to grab the top spot with another performance like last year.

WINDER IN THE THIRD
Senior Tiersa Winder has been the Bulldogs' x-factor in the third quarter. The guard scored 11 of 21 points against UMass Lowell and nine of 15 points vs. Holy Cross in the period.

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 13.35 points in each the second and third quarter vs. an average of 19.5 points in the first and fourth quarter respectively.

Against Holy Cross, Bryant held the Crusaders to 24 combined points in the second and third period, while allowing 41 total points in the first and last 10-minute periods.

The Bulldogs gave up 39 points to Seton Hall in the first quarter, but held them to 14 in the fourth. Similarly, the Bulldogs allowed UMass Lowell 21 points in the first, while restricting the River Hawks to 12 in the final 10 minutes of regulation. 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 the home team 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.

FROM THREE
Ivory Bailey shot 3-7 (42.9%) from behind the arc against Holy Cross. The team finished 7-22 (31.8%), including three-pointers from four different players.

Against Vermont, Bryant went 5-12 (41.7%) from downtown, led by the efforts of senior Tiersa Winder and Bailey, who each went 2-4.

At UMass Lowell, the Bulldogs shot 9-16 (56.3%) from behind the arc, with five different players hitting from three-point land. Winder led the Bulldogs with a trio of made threes, including a key trey in the third quarter against the River Hawks

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 freshman Kierra 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 83 threes in three games, finding success on 28 occasions. The Bulldogs shot a season-best 56.3% from three-point land at UMass Lowell.

DEFENSE BEYOND THE ARC
Opponents have been able to find success from three-point land against the Bulldogs. Through the first five games, Bryant is allowing opponents to shoot 39.8% from behind the arc, placing them last in the Northeast Conference in three-point field goal percentage defense

In the first half against Holy Cross, the Black and Gold allowed the Crusaders to hit 5-10 (50%) from downtown. On the other hand, the Bulldogs allowed UMass Lowell to shoot 5-11 (45.5%) from three-point land in the second half of play.

Cornell found the greatest success against the Bulldogs, burying 5-8 (62.5%) open threes, which allowed the Big Red to edge out the home team by eight. Bryant's season opener saw a tough competitor in Seton Hall, who shot 47.8% from downtown. The Bulldogs gave up a season-high 11 treys against the Pirates, leading to a season-high 93 points allowed.

BOUNDS BY THE POUND
One of the Bulldogs' biggest strength is their performance on the glass, both offensively and defensively, out-rebounding their first five competitors of the 2015-16 season.

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 four of five contests, including a season-high 15 on two occasions (at UMass Lowell and at Holy Cross).

The backcourt has been impactful on the glass, with Winder averaging 3.4 and Bailey with 5.6 per game, including a season-high seven rebounds in the last two contests.

The Bulldogs finished with a season-high of 50 boards against Vermont. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Catamounts by 19, including 18 on the offensive glass and 32 defensively. The Black and Gold currently outrebound their competitors by 13 boards per game, placing them first in the Northeast Conference.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
After recording 22 double-doubles in the 2014-15 campaign, Rucker recorded her second double-double of the 2015-16 season against UMass Lowell. The power forward racked up a season-high 15 boards, while also equating 20 points, after shooting 7-11 from the floor, 2-2 from three-point land and 4-4 from the line.

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
Against Vermont, 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. Bryant also held Holy Cross to 10 points in the third quarter off three jumpers and a pair of layups in 10 minutes of play.

The Black and Gold have captured 125 total defensive rebounds, averaging 25 per game, which places them fourth 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 UMass Lowell 12 points in the final period.

A TEAM OF FIRSTS
The Bulldogs sit atop a number of Northeast Conference charts this season. The Bulldogs rank No. 1 in the conference in rebounding offense (42.8), rebounding defense (29.8), rebounding margin (+13) and average offensive rebounds per game (17.8).

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. Junior Chanel Ramcharran came off the bench against Seton Hall and provided the leadership the Bulldogs needed. Since then the point guard has started the next three contests for the Bulldogs.

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 has been asset offensively, scoring double-digit points on 19 occasions, including a season high of 19 against LIU Brooklyn (Jan. 26). This season the center averages 5.8 points for the Bulldogs in their first five games of the season, while grabbing the team's second highest 6.0 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.

This season, Winder put up a team-high and season-high 21 points against UMass Lowell, including a trio of three-pointers, while shooting 9-14 from the floor. The guard also managed seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end against Seton Hall. 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 has recorded two double-doubles in the 2015-16 season against Vermont, pulling down 14 rebounds, while managing 21 points and UMass Lowell, with 15 rebounds and 20 points. This season, the senior is averaging 13 rebounds per game, which places her first in the NEC. Rucker is also first in the conference in offensive rebounding per game with six, while also averaging 13.8 points per game.

The 5-11 forward has recorded 30 offensive rebounds this year 35 defensive rebounds, including a game-high 10 against Vermont. Rucker leads the Bulldogs in offensive efficiency, shooting 47.8% from the floor (22-46) and 88% from the line (22-25) in her 162 minutes of play.

THE GO-TO
Ivory Bailey is the Bulldogs' leading scorer through the first five games of the season, averaging 16.8 points per game. The 5-7 guard put up a season-high 21 points on the road against Seton Hall and 15 points in three-straight games, while notching 18 against Holy Cross. In an average of 35.6 minutes per game, Bailey is averaging 2.2 assists and 5.6 rebounds, while shooting 43.3% from the floor and 39.3% from behind the arc.

THE FLOOR GENERAL
Junior Chanel Ramcharran has started the last four games for the Bulldogs after a standout performance at Seton Hall, where she scored five points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists off the bench. The point guard scored a career-high nine points against UMass Lowell, while shooting 2-3 from three.