Rucker's ninth double-double helps Bulldogs to best NEC start, 5-0, defeat Blackbirds, 63-55

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – In the best-ever Division I conference start, the Bryant University women's basketball team advanced to 5-0 in the Northeast Conference, after defeating the Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn, 63-55, on Saturday in the Chace Athletic Center.

With 6:40 to play in the third, Blackbirds' (4-12, 2-3 NEC) Paris Jones hit one from way downtown as the shot clock expired to tie the game, 32-32. Bulldog (8-8, 5-0 NEC) senior Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) responded with a 3-point play of her own, hitting the lefty layup and extra point at the line to put Bryant up, 35-32, with 6:10 to go in the period. Freshman Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) extended the Bulldogs' run to seven, as they went up, 39-32, after the point guard finished the runner in the paint, with 4:45 on the clock. The Blackbirds answered with a six-point run to pull back within three, 42-39, to close out the third.

Senior Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded her ninth double-double of the season off a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line. Winder added 14 points for the Bulldogs, finishing 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) from the charity stripe, while junior Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) totaled 12 points off 6-of-7 from the floor. Sophomore Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.) dished out a season-high six assists in her 36 minutes of play. Bryant tied its season-high 11 steals and forced the Blackbirds into 21 total turnovers. Bryant shot 39.3 percent overall and 78.3 percent from the chalk, while struggling from three, hitting only 1-of-16 from behind the arc.

The Blackbirds shot 42.0 percent from the field, 18.8 percent from 3-point land and 71.4 percent from the line. Sophomore Shanice Vaughan led the visitors with 21 points, shooting 47.4 percent from the floor, while Jolanna Ford and Shanovia Dove added 10 points respectively.

LIU's Brianna Farris cut the deficit to four, 22-18, after burying a trey in transition with 7:11 to go in the second. Rucker got going, scoring eight points in the period, including back-to-back buckets to put the Bulldogs up, 26-20, with 4:20 on the clock. Another Farris three and Vaughan layup narrowed the gap to one, 28-27, before the Blackbirds took their first lead of the game, 29-28, on a Shanovia Dove made basket with 1:10 to play in the first half. The Bulldogs entered intermission with a one-point lead, 30-29, after Olander hit a foul line jumper to give Bryant the edge.

In the opening minutes of the final quarter, Winder came up with a key steal and finish down the other end to give the Bulldogs the momentum and five-point lead, 46-41. With 3:20 to play, Rucker received a pass from Olander, finding her 24th point on a layup to give the Bulldogs their largest lead of the game, 56-45. The Black and Gold would manage the lead for the remainder of the game, sealing the, 63-55, victory and advancing to 5-0 in NEC play.

In their next contest, the Bulldogs travels to Brooklyn to take on St. Francis on Monday at 1 p.m.