Bulldogs look to stay undefeated in NEC play, host Blackbirds Saturday at 1 pm

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - After winning four-straight Northeast Conference games to begin the season, the Bryant University women's basketball team returns to Smithfield with a chance to set a new Division I-best start in league play with a win over LIU Brooklyn on Saturday.

THE SERIES
This contest will mark the 11th meeting between the Bulldogs and Blackbirds with the series mark in Bryant's favor, 7-3. The Bulldogs have found victories in the last five meetings, losing to LIU Brooklyn last on Feb. 6, 2012, 50-41. Last year's contest on Jan. 26 was forced into extra time, resulting in a Bryant overtime victory, 88-85.

SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
The Blackbirds started conference play at 2-0 with wins at Mount St. Mary's and Central Connecticut, but now enter the contest against Bryant, having recorded two-straight losses against Saint Francis U. and Robert Morris. LIU Brooklyn forces competitors into turnovers with their aggressive style of defense, averaging 9.7 steals per game, the second-most in the NEC. The Blackbirds are led offensively by Shanovia Dove who scores 13.5 points per game, shooting 32 percent from three and 80.4 percent from the line. Shanice Vaughan has started in every contest for the Blackbirds, averaging 10.2 points per game, shooting a team-high 47.7 percent from the floor.

FROM THE FIELD
For the first time since Dec. 20, 2013 against UMass Lowell, the Bulldogs shot better than 55 percent from the field (55.8 percent) at Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 11. Bryant finished 29-for-52 with junior Chanel Ramcharran leading with an 83.3 field goal percentage.

OLANDER'S HOT HAND
Junior Morgan Olander scored a season-high 18 points, shooting 80 percent (8-10) from the field in the, 70-59, win at Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 11.

RAMCHARRAN OFF THE BENCH
Junior Chanel Ramcharran came off the bench at Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 11) to tie her career-high 13 points off a 5-for-6 mark from the floor and 3-for-3 shooting from 3-point land. The point guard also dished out a career-high eight assists in her 26 minutes of play.

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE
Three Bulldogs have earned double-doubles this season, led by senior Breanna Rucker, who notched her eighth double-double of the 2015-16 season at Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 11. The forward recorded 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in the contest. Rucker's eight double-doubles rank her first in the NEC and 19th 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.

GO TO?...ANYONE!
The Bulldogs have three players averaging double-digit points per game in Tiersa Winder (12.6), Breanna Rucker (13.2) and Ivory Bailey (12.5). 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 six different players have led the Bulldogs in scoring in their 15 games this season. Against Wagner (Jan. 9), 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).

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 (41.0), rebounding defense (30.5), rebounding margin (+10.5) and average defensive rebounds per game (25.47).

NATIONAL ATTENTION
As a team, the Bulldogs occupy five top-100 spots in NCAA Division I statistics, including their highest rank of 12th for rebounding margin per game (+10.5). Forward Breanna Rucker has earned four rankings of her own, including two top-15 performances in offensive rebounds per contest (10th) and rebounds per game (14th).

FOUR QUARTERS
The Bulldogs held Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 11) to an 11-point performance in three-straight quarters. The Black and Gold only allowed Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 4) 14 total points in the middle two quarters, including just four points in the second. In similar fashion, Bryant allowed New Hampshire (Dec. 20) only 17 combined points in the second and third quarter, including just two points in the second quarter alone. The four-point quarter total marked the fourth time that Bryant has held an opponent to single-digit point totals. In their highest point-total allowed, the Bulldogs gave up 39 points to Seton Hall (Nov. 13) in the first quarter, but then held the Pirates to 14 in the fourth. Bryant has outscored opponents in 22-of-56 quarters this season, 12 of which came in either the second or third quarters.

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Nine players contributed to the Bulldogs', 70-59, victory at Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 11), with the same number of players adding to the, 70-41, win over Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 4), tying the mark for the most players to score in a single game this season. Against the Knights, four of the nine players totaled double-digit points, including 14 from leading scorer Tiersa Winder. Nine players also got on the board in the, 55-42, victory over New Hampshire on Dec. 20, where senior Breanna Rucker led the team with 12 points, while the other four starters combined for 21.