Bulldogs face off against 9-1 Eagles, Wednesday at 6 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Looking to string together back-to-back wins, the Bryant University women's basketball team travels to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College on Wednesday, December 30 at 6 p.m.

THE SERIES
This contest will mark the third meeting between the Bulldogs (3-7) and Eagles (9-1) in Division I play. The Bulldogs enter Conte Forum looking for their first Division I win, with BC leading the series, 2-0, including last years' 90-79 victory.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
The Eagles have won four-straight games, including a 58-56 victory over Purdue and a 66-55 edge over UMass Lowell in their latest match up. BC has only dropped one game this season to Oklahoma, 76-61, in Freeport, Bahamas. Prior to Bryant visiting Chestnut Hill, the Eagles will face off against Northeastern on Monday, December 28.

The Eagles are led by junior Kelly Hughes, who averages 13.8 points per game, shooting 49.5 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent from three and 100 percent from the line. The guard also averages 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

Freshman Mariella Fasoula is the only other Eagle to average double-digit points, scoring 10.7 per game, while shooting 54.4 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from the line. The center averages a team-high five rebounds per game and 14 rebounds in her six starts for the Eagles.

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
In the Bulldogs' latest contest, they defeated New Hampshire, with nine of the 14 players contributing to the 55-42 victory. Off the bench, junior Chanel Ramcharran and freshman Kierra Palmer added valuable minutes, each adding four points. Senior Dani Anderson played a strong 20 minutes for the Bulldogs, scoring six points, going 2-for-5 from three-point land.

TAMING THE WILDCATS
In their latest contest, the Bulldogs prevented the Wildcats from scoring a single field goal in the second quarter. The only two points the visitors earned were from the free throw line, while the Black and Gold scored a quarter-high 17 points in the second.

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
In comparison to the game prior against Maine, the Black and Gold dominated on defense against New Hampshire, holding them to 12-for-57 (21.1 percent) from the floor and 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) from behind the arc, while forcing them into 15 turnovers.

The Bulldogs struggled more than usual against Maine on the defensive side of the ball, allowing the Black Bears to shoot 57.9 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three. Bryant was only able to record one steal and one block, falling below their season average.

BOUNDS BY THE POUND
One of the Bulldogs' biggest strength is their performance on the glass, both offensively and defensively, out-rebounding all ten of their competitors. The Black and Gold currently outrebound their competitors by 13 boards per game, placing them first in the Northeast Conference.

The Bulldogs outrebounded the Wildcats by ten, marking their eighth positive double-digit rebounding differential, with senior Breanna Rucker leading the team with 11.

Facing a taller team in Providence, the Bulldogs still managed to out-rebound the Friars by 12 overall with the margin coming on the offensive glass. Bryant accumulated 21 offensive boards, while the Providence only managed nine.

With the team's leading rebounder in Rucker out of the game, the Bulldogs still out-rebounded Brown by 18, 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. The Bulldogs collected 52 total boards against Brown, which stands as the most this season in a single game.

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.

INDIVIDUALS ON THE GLASS
Junior Morgan Olander has recorded two double-digit rebounding games, while Rucker has managed double-digit rebounds in eight contests, including a season-high 15 on two occasions (at UMass Lowell and at Holy Cross). Rucker sits six games away from 50 double-digit rebounding occurrences. The forward ranks first in the conference in rebounding (12.0) and offensive rebounds (5.22) per game.

Junior Alex Klein recorded her first career double-digit rebounding game against Brown, leading the team with 16, helping to place her sixth in the NEC in offensive rebounds (2.60).

The backcourt has been impactful on the glass, with sophomore Ivory Bailey averaging 5.7 per game, including a season-high 11 rebounds against Brown.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
After recording 22 double-doubles in the 2014-15 campaign, Rucker recorded her fifth double-double of the 2015-16 season against New Hampshire, recording 12 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.

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 against Brown.

LEAHY ADDING VALUABLE MINUTES
Senior Maureen Leahy only averages 8.7 minutes per game, but provides a key role in the Bulldogs' success. The 6-2 center went 3-for-3 from the field against New Hampshire, providing a season-high of six points. Leahy also recorded two blocks and two defensive rebounds in her nine minutes of play. The senior recorded a season-high three blocks at UMass Lowell, while adding a bucket to her 20-point total this season.

ANDERSON'S ROLE
Senior Dani Anderson has thrived in Smithfield, producing two of her best games in the Chace Athletic Center, including a season-high 12-point performance against Brown. In the most recent contest, the guard helped the Bulldogs pull away from the Wildcats, after hitting a three to put them up by 10. Anderson finished the game with six points, shooting 2-for-5 from three, while grabbing two defensive boards and one steal in her 20 minutes of play.

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 (42.4), rebounding defense (30.0), rebounding margin (+12.4) and average offensive rebounds per game (17.3).

FRESHMEN AT THE POINT
In the quest to find a permanent player to fill as floor general, head coach Mary Burke has tried both freshmen guards out as the point. Kierra Palmer has proven she can supply the Bulldogs offensively, scoring a season-high 12 points against Cornell, while also contributing five valuable points at Providence, including a three that helped the visitors narrow the gap. Haley Connors has started the last two contests for the Bulldogs, after a team-high 15-point performance against Brown, where the freshman shot 6-of-11 from the field in her 30 minutes of play.

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 performed better in the middle two quarters, holding opponents to an average of 11.9 points each in the second and third quarter vs. an average of 15.32 points in the first and fourth quarter respectively.

The Bulldogs held New Hampshire to only 17 combined points in the second and third quarter, including just two points in the second quarter alone.

Against the Friars, the Bulldogs held the Friars to 34 points in the second and third periods combined, while allowing a total of 54 in the first and fourth. While holding Providence to quarter-lows in the middle quarters, the Bulldogs also outscored the Friars by 10, 44-34, in the 20-minute span.

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.

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.

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.