Bulldogs lead for 40 minutes, top Mount, 86-52, Saturday afternoon in Smithfield

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Finishing with season-highs 64.0 percent (32-of-55) from the field and 68.4 percent (13-for-19) from 3-point land, the Bryant University women's basketball team took down Mount St. Mary's, 86-52.

The Bulldogs (15-11, 12-3 NEC) tied their season-high 13 made threes, while the Mount (7-19, 5-10 NEC) hit only 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) from behind the arc. The Black and Gold found their largest margin of the season, 34 points, as four Bulldogs finished in double-digits, led by senior Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 21. Junior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) notched a career-high eight buckets, as she finished with 18 points. Freshman Haley Connors (West Haven, Conn.) added 11 points, finishing 3-of-4 from downtown, while junior Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) tacked on 10 points off a 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) mark from the floor.

The Bulldogs started off strong from the outside, hitting two-straight from downtown by freshmen, Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) and Connors to put the home team up five, 10-5, with 6:04 to play in the opening quarter. Olander began producing offensively in the first, hitting buckets on back-to-back possessions, giving the Bulldogs a seven-point edge, 14-7, at the 2:49 mark. The Black and Gold went a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point land in the first, including a half-court shot by junior Chanel Ramcharran (Pickering, Ont.) that hit nothing but net as the period expired, pushing the Bryant lead to 12, 23-11.

Rucker stayed perfect from behind the arc, as she hit her second three of the contest to open the quarter with a 15-point advantage, 26-11. Klein found three-straight buckets, running the floor for the lay ins, as the Bulldogs pushed the margin to 22, 37-15, with 4:52 remaining in the period. Klein and Rucker both hit double-digit points in the second, as the junior hit a short-corner jumper and the senior nailed the corner three to put Bryant up 22, 45-23, with 50 seconds to go in the half.

The Bulldogs continued to build on their lead, going ahead by a game-high 27 points at the 7:06 mark, when Connors hits a three from the corner to stay a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown, as the freshman broke into double-digit points. The Mount cut the deficit back under 20, 57-40, when as senior Jody Chickey completed the three-point play at the line with 46 remaining in the period. Chickey finished with a team-high 16 points, hitting 7-of-20 (35 percent) from the field.

After a game-low 11 points for the Bulldogs in the third, Rucker continued to nail the three, finding a new career-best five threes to give Bryant a 19-point edge, 63-44. The bucket from downtown ended a Mount 11-point run and was assisted by Palmer, who found a new career-high 11 helpers on the play. The freshman finished the contest with 14 assists, breaking the Division I program record of 10, set by herself against Wagner on Feb. 13. Midway through the fourth, Rucker grabbed a defensive board that propelled her into double-figure rebounds, recording her 16th double-double of the season and seventh-straight off 21 points and 10 rebounds.

With just two minutes remaining in the game, head coach Mary Burke emptied the bench and found no drop off, as the Bulldogs outscored the Mount, 8-4, led by senior Emma Sobieraski (Lockport, N.Y.) with a career-high four points. Sophomore Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) also found a career-high two points, while junior Amanda Hinton (Bristow, Va.) added two from the line. The full Bryant effort contributed to the program's second-largest Division I conference win, as the Black and Gold took down the Mount, 86-52.

The Bulldogs look next to first place Sacred Heart, as they face the Pioneers in an ESPN3 showdown on Monday at 7 p.m., playing for the top spot in the NEC and home court advantage through the playoffs.