Bulldogs wrap up NEC-opening road trip at Mount on Monday at 4 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - With a chance to tie their best mark to start Northeast Conference play, the Bryant University women's basketball team heads to Knott Arena to take on Mount St. Mary's in the quest for its fourth-straight win on Monday at 4 p.m.

THE SERIES
This contest will mark the 13th meeting between the Bulldogs and the Mount. Mount St. Mary's leads the series, 7-5, but the Bulldogs have found victories in the last three meetings, including last year's NEC Quarterfinal contest, where the Black and Gold dominated, winning, 76-54.

SCOUTING THE MOUNT
Mount has won back-to-back conference games, including wins against St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 4 and Central Connecticut on Jan. 9. The Mount is led offensively by guard Alexis Carter, who averages 12.3 points per game. The guard is shooting 38.4 from the field, 27.3 percent from three and 78.6 from the line. Sophomore Jessica Harris averages the team's second highest points per game, with 10.0 in her 11 starts for the mount. The guard shoots 30.1 percent from the floor and 32.2 percent from three. Mount maintains a run-and-gun style of play, forcing their competitors into turnovers, while also coughing the ball up on an average of 20 times per game. The Mount's pressure defense has helped them to 6.9 steals per game.

BRYANT VS. MOUNT IN OT
In Division I history, the Bulldogs have faced four overtime contests, drawing even, 2-2, in extra time. In the most recent overtime victory in Smithfield on Feb. 9, 2015, Bryant edged out Mount, 74-72, after senior Breanna Rucker hit a pair of free throws to put the Bulldogs up by two and they never looked back.

LUCKY 17'S
In the Bulldogs' most recent contest, three players scored 17 points to the lead the Black and Gold in scoring. Senior Breanna Rucker scored 15 of her 17 points in the final quarter, while junior Alex Klein was hot in the first half, scoring the Bulldogs' first six points of the game. Sophomore Ivory Bailey added 17 of her own, hitting a career- high 8-of-10 from the line.

THE COMEBACK KIDS
After trailing by as much as eight with two minutes to play in the third quarter, the Bulldogs went on a series of runs down the stretch to beat Wagner, 82-71, in Staten Island on Jan. 9. Bryant ended the third with a 6-1 run to pull back within three, 51-48. Over the course of the final 10 minutes, the Bulldogs began to pull away, before ending the contest with a seven-point run off made free throws to take the largest lead of the night and seal their third conference win of the season.

GO TO?...ANYONE!
The Bulldogs have three players averaging double-digit points per game in Tiersa Winder (13.3), Breanna Rucker (13.1) and Ivory Bailey (13.0). On any given night, one of the 14 Bulldogs can make a difference in the outcome of the game, with nine players recording at least one double-digit point outing, some on multiple occasions, while five different players have led the Bulldogs in scoring in their 14 games this season. In their most recent contest, the Bulldogs had five players record double-digit points for the second time this season, including Alex Klein (17), Rucker (17), Bailey (17), Winder (13) and Morgan Olander (11).

CAREER-HIGH SCORING
Junior Alex Klein scored a career-high 17 points at Wagner in the Bulldogs', 82-71, victory on Jan. 9. The forward shot 7-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the line in her 23 minutes of play.

THE GIVER
Freshman Kierra Palmer recorded a career-best nine assists at Wagner, beating her old standing record of eight against Central Connecticut on Jan. 2. The point guard currently has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.4 and leads the Bulldogs with three helpers per game.

NOTHING BUT NET
Senior Morgan Olander shot 100 percent (5-for-5) from the floor at Wagner on Jan. 9, including 10 of her 11 points coming in the second quarter alone. The center nailed 4-of-5 field goals from outside the paint, all of which hit nothing but nylon as they went in.

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE
Three Bulldogs have earned double-doubles this season, led by senior Breanna Rucker, who notched her seventh double-double of the 2015-16 season at Wagner on Jan. 9. The forward recorded a game-high 17 points, 10 rebounds in the contest. Rucker's seven double-doubles rank her first in the NEC and 24th in the nation. In the power forward's best double-double rebounding performance of the season, she racked up a season-high 15 boards while scoring 20 points at UMass Lowell on Nov. 24, shooting 7-11 from the floor, 2-2 from 3-point land and 4-4 from the line. Sophomore Ivory Bailey recorded her second double-double of the season and third of her career off 12 points and 13 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end, at Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 4. Junior Alex Klein logged her first career double-double off 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds against Brown on Dec 6.

NEW TEAM ASSISTS BEST
The Bulldogs recorded 20 or more assists for the second time this season, after totaling 20 at Wagner on Jan. 9 and a season-high 21 assists with seven players dishing out helpers against Central Connecticut on Jan. 2.