Bulldogs face Friars Wednesday night in Providence

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - In the second in-state match up, the Bryant University women's basketball team travels down the road to Friartown to take on Providence College on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

THE SERIES
This contest will mark the third meeting between the Bulldogs and Friars in Division I play. The in-state foes split games, with the Bulldogs winning last season, 90-80, in Smithfield.

SCOUTING THE FRIARS
The Friars (2-5) started their season with a three-game losing streak, losing to Boston College, at Brown and at Virginia Tech, before snapping the lull by beating Hartford in Providence. The Friars also defeated Monmouth in Alumni Hall, winning 71-59. Since then, Providence has dropped the last two contests to Albany and Richmond. 

Junior forward Aliyah Miller leads the Friars offensively, averaging 11.6 points per game, shooting 46.3 percent from the floor. The 6-1 post grabs 4.9 rebounds in an average of 27.7 minutes of play per contest.

Just behind Miller, classmate guard Sarah Beal averages 11.3 points, shooting 39 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from three. The 5-8 guard dishes out 3.1 assists and rips down 4.7 rebounds in an average of 30.9 minutes per game.

New to the Friars, freshman Jovana 'Yoyo' Nogic has made a splash, shooting a team-high 47.4 percent from behind the arc, while dishing out 2.9 assists and snagging 3.4 boards per game. The 6-1 shooting guard averages the team's third best 10.4 points per contest in 29.6 minutes.

RISING TO THE OCCASION
With senior leaders Tiersa Winder and Breanna Rucker out due to injury against Brown, head coach Mary Burke went to the drawing board to conduct a lineup that could compete against the Bears.

Usual starters Ivory Bailey and Morgan Olander stayed in the lineup, each contributing double-digit points for the Bulldogs. Bailey bucketed 4-of-21 for 10 points, while also grabbing 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

Olander was one rebound shy of her first season double-double, but was one of five Bulldogs to finish in double-digit scoring, recording 12 points on the day.

Senior Dani Anderson, junior Alex Klein and freshman Haley Connors rounded out the five double-digit scorers. Anderson and Klein both received the start for the Black and Gold, helping the team pull back within single digits midway through the fourth quarter.

Anderson finished the contest with 12 points, three assists and eight rebounds in her season-high 37 minutes of play. Klein recorded a season-high 14 points and 16 rebounds, while Connors notched a game and career-high 15 points.

KLEIN TAKEOVER
The 6-1 forward recorded her first career double-double on 14 points and a team-high 16 rebounds, including 10 defensive and six offensive. In the first half alone, Klein ripped down 11 total rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass. In 39 minutes of play, Klein notched a pair of assists and steals respectively, while shooting 6-of-15 from the floor and 100 percent from the line.

REAL WORLD FRESH MEAT
Coming off the bench, Connors led the Bulldogs with 15 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the field, 1-of-5 from behind the arc and 2-for-6 from the free throw line. The 5-7 guard commanded the point for the Black and Gold, snatching two rebounds, doling out four assists and grabbing a steal in her career-high 30 minutes of play. Connors helped fire the Bulldogs offensively by working to get to the rim off the dribble, while hitting big-time shots from outside, including an and one at the top of the third to put the Bulldogs back within 12.

BOUNDS BY THE POUND
One of the Bulldogs' biggest strength is their performance on the glass, both offensively and defensively, out-rebounding all seven of their competitors thus far.

With Rucker out for the game, the Bulldogs still out-rebounded Brown by 18, including grabbing 16 more offensive rebounds than the Bears. Klein and Ivory both recorded double-digit boards, while Olander grabbed nine and Anderson found eight of her own.

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.

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 defense (29.5), rebounding margin (+12.3) and average offensive rebounds per game (17.8). 

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
In the Bulldogs' latest contest, Bailey recorded her first double-double of the season off 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Klein logged her first career double-double off 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

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.

DEFENSE BEYOND THE ARC
Opponents have been able to find success from three-point land against the Bulldogs. Through the first seven games, Bryant has allowed opponents to shoot 44.4 percent from behind the arc, placing them last in the Northeast Conference in 3-point field goal percentage defense. 

The Bears shot 55 percent from three in the game, hitting 11-for-20 from downtown. Shayna Mehta went 7-for-7 for Brown from behind the arc.

The Bulldogs allowed Massachusetts to shoot 6-9 (66.7 percent) 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 percent) from downtown. On the other hand, the Bulldogs allowed UMass Lowell to shoot 5-11 (45.5 percent) from three-point land in the second half of play.

Cornell found the greatest success against the Bulldogs, burying 5-8 (62.5 percent) 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 percent from downtown. The Bulldogs gave up a season-high 11 treys against the Pirates, leading to a season-high 93 points allowed.

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
In their latest contest, the Bulldogs forced the Bears into 10 turnovers, five of which occurred on steals, while also recording three blocks. 

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.