Season-high 13 threes helps Bullogs in 94-67 win over Seahawks, Saturday in Smithfield

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball team broke their two-game losing streak, along with numerous records, as the squad defeated Wagner, 94-67, on Saturday afternoon in the Chace Athletic Center.

The Bulldogs (14-10, 11-2 NEC) had a day of bests against the Seahawks (4-20, 2-11), as senior Dani Anderson (Wellington, Kan.) rose to the occasion, hitting 4-of-4 from downtown to record a career-high 14 points and a personal-best four-made threes. Freshman Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) found a Division I program-best and personal-best 10 assists, leading the team to a season-high 28 helpers on 33 field goals.

The Bulldogs scored a season-high 94 points, marking the first 90+ point performance since Nov. 30, 2015, against Providence College. The contest marked the second time of the season that five Bulldogs scored in double-digits with the last time occurring in the 82-71 win at Wagner on Jan. 9.

For the third time this season, nine different players scored in a single contest led by sophomore Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.) with 18 points, shooting 50 percent from the floor (5-10), 75 percent from three and 83.3 percent from the line (5-6). Senior Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded her 14th double-double of the season and 46th of her career off 17 points and 11 rebounds. Anderson and junior Chanel Ramcharran (Pickering, Ont.) came off the bench to score 14 and 11, respectively, while classmate Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) tacked on 12 off 6-for-10 from the field.

Bryant shot a season-best 54.2 percent (13-24) from 3-point land, with six different Bulldogs converting from behind the arc for the first time this season. Wagner struggled from three, finishing only 16 percent (4-25) from deep. The Black and Gold outscored the Seahawks in all four quarters, marking the second time this season with the first occurrence taking place at St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 18.

The Seahawks saw three double-digit point scorers, led by junior Jasmine Nwajei with 32 points off 11-for-30 (36.7 percent) from the field and 8-for-10 from the charity stripe. Tanasia McClure and Taylor Butigian came off the bench to contribute 14 and 12 points, respectively, combining for 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from the floor.

Northeast Conference leading scorer, Nwajei was contained at the start of the game, scoring her first basket of the game 5:16 into the contest on a layup that cut Bryant's lead to six, 11-5. The guard hit a 3-pointer on the following Wagner possession, but it was matched by Bailey on her first of three threes on the day, putting the home team up, 14-8, with 3:36 to go in the quarter. The Black and Gold closed out the quarter with a 16-point edge, 27-11, shooting 70.6 percent (12-for-17) and 60 percent from three (3-for-5), while the Seahawks shot 25 percent from both.

Nwajei got going for the Seahawks in the second, scoring five of the team's eight points in a one-minute span to cut the Bryant lead back to single-digits, 35-26, with 5:52 in the period. The Bulldogs responded, matching the Seahawks' eight-point streak, including back-to-back threes from Anderson and Bailey to give Bryant a 43-26 advantage with 2:10 to play in the half. Bailey continued to stay hot, hitting 4-of-4 from the line to help the Bulldogs close out the first half on top, 49-30.

The Bulldogs closed out the first half shooting 60 percent from the field (18-30) and 54.4 percent from behind the arc (6-11), joining for more threes in the first half than the last two games combined. Bailey led the way with 15 points, finishing 4-for-6 from the floor, 3-for-4 from three and 100 percent from the chalk. Led by Palmer eight assists in the opening 20 minutes, the Bulldogs shared 17 assists on 18 field goals.

The Bulldogs continued to put distance between them and the Seahawks, going up 22 points, 52-30, after freshman Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) hit a three with 7:37 to play in the third. Connors' three was one of the Bulldogs' five in the quarter, including back-to-back threes from Ramcharran to give the home team a 77-50 advantage with 40 seconds to go in the third.

The Bryant scoring frenzy continued, finding their largest lead of the game, 94-65, when junior Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) tipped in the offensive rebound, as the shot clock expired at the 1:50 mark in the fourth. The Bulldogs closed out the contest on top, 94-67, finding their 11th conference win and second over Wagner this season.  

The Bulldogs will continue their four-game homestead, as they host St. Francis Brooklyn on Monday at 1 p.m.