Bulldogs host Bears in in-state contest Sunday at 1 p.m. in Smithfield

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - After two-straight losses, the Bryant University women's basketball team looks to break the streak against in-state competitor Brown University on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
The Bears opened the 2015-16 season 5-0, after defeating Providence College, Vermont and the like. Brown has only dropped one match thus far to Manhattan, losing 80-56 on the road. In their most recent contests, the Bears have defeated Rhode Island, 67-63, and Binghamton, 67-65.

Senior Jordan Alexander leads the Bears offensively, averaging 13 points, while dishing out 4.3 assists per contest.

Freshman Shayna Mehta is another strength in the Bears' backcourt, averaging 12.3 points, 4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. The guard tallied a career-high 21 points against Rhode Island, nailing six shots from behind the arc.

Brown's frontcourt is headed by freshman Erika Steeves, who averages 11.1 points and a team-high seven rebounds per game. 

1,000-POINT CLUB
Breanna Rucker solidified her place in Bryant's 1,000-point club, after recording the milestone on a key layup against Massachusetts. The lay in pulled the Bulldogs within seven of the Minutewomen in the fourth quarter and was a part of Rucker's 10-point scoring streak in the final period.

The senior finished the game with 13 points, allowing her to reach 1,006 career points in 94 career games.

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.

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 15.78 points each in the second and third quarter vs. an average of 23.8 points in the first and fourth quarter respectively.

The Bulldogs help the Minutewomen to a period-low 14 points in the second quarter and the second lowest 20 points in the third, while giving up a combined 52 points in the first and fourth.

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 allowed 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
Against Massachusetts, Tiersa Winder went 4-8 (50%) from three, including two in the first quarter during her eight-point run. 

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.

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).

DEFENSE BEYOND THE ARC
Opponents have been able to find success from three-point land against the Bulldogs. Through the first six games, Bryant is allowing opponents to shoot 42.3% from behind the arc, placing them last in the Northeast Conference in three-point field goal percentage defense.

The Bulldogs allowed Massachusetts to shoot 6-9 (66.7%) from three-point land, with two players finishing 3-4 from the outside.

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 all six of their competitors thus far.

Despite Massachusetts' size and athleticism, the Bulldogs were able to outrebound them by nine, led by Rucker, who grabbed 11 rebounds and Alex Klein with seven.

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 third double-double of the 2015-16 season against UMass Amherst off 13 points and 11 rebounds. In the power forward's best double-double performance of the season, she 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 against UMass Lowell.

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
In their latest contest, the Black and Gold held UMass Amherst to 14 points in the second quarter, while forcing them into two offensive turnovers. The in the third period, Bryant tied the Minutewomen, allowing only 20 points. The Bulldogs held Massachusetts to only two baskets in the paint, while also pressuring them into five turnovers in the period.

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.

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 five contests for the Bulldogs.