Rucker's double-double helps Bulldogs hold off Blackbirds, 62-53, Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – In a must-win game, the Bryant University women's basketball team held on to beat LIU Brooklyn, 62-53, with the help of senior Breanna Rucker's (Cincinnati, Ohio) double-double performance, Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn.

Rucker led the Bulldogs (16-12, 13-4) with 13 points, scoring eight in the final quarter and finishing 9-of-12 at the line. The power forward found her 18th double-double of the season and ninth-straight off 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Junior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) added 12 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the floor, while freshman Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) totaled 10 points and six assists.

The Bulldogs struggled from downtown, hitting only 2-of-12 (16.7 percent), while the Blackbirds (8-20, 6-11) finished 6-of-22 (27.3 percent), with junior Shanovia Dove hitting five threes in the contest. Dove finished with a game-high 23 points, while sophomore DeAngelique Waithe added 13 off a 6-for-10 mark from the floor. Senior Jolanna Ford grabbed a team-high 12 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass. The Bulldogs edged out the Blackbirds by one on the boards, 40-39, but the home team ripped down 17 to Bryant's seven offensive rebounds.

The Bulldogs took the lead from the start and saw five different players hit the first five baskets, as the Black and Gold took an 11-2 lead over the Blackbirds. The nine-point edge came off a Bryant 7-0 run, which included a 3-pointer from Palmer with 4:05 to play in the first. Bryant found its largest lead of the quarter, 15-5, after Palmer passed to junior Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) inside for the layup with 0:44 on the clock. Junior Breanna Ferris hit a three, closing out the first period with a Bryant seven-point edge, 15-8. The Blackbirds eight-points in the first marks the 12th occasion the Bulldogs have held an opponent to a single-digit scoring quarter.

 To open the second, Palmer found Klein streaking down the middle of the floor for the layup in transition, as the Bulldogs stretched the lead, 17-8, with 9:34 to play in the quarter. Klein was hot for the Bulldogs in the period, scoring six of the team's 12 points, while leading the team with 10 at the intermission.

The Blackbirds got going in the second, outscoring the Bulldogs, 16-12, in the period, including back-to-back threes from Dove, as she entered the break with a team-leading 10 points. LIU Brooklyn worked the offensive glass in the first half, grabbing 11 to Bryant's 2 offensive boards, while both teams finished the opening periods with 20 rebounds, respectively. The Blackbirds also forced Bryant into 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, including six steals by the home team to help them pull within three, 27-24 at the break.

Dove found her third basket from behind the arc to tie the contest, 27-27, in the opening minute of the third quarter. Sophomore Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.) answered with a three of her own to put the visitors back on top, 30-27, with 8:59 to play in the third. Palmer hit double-digit points at the 6:34 mark, when she dribbled through traffic in transition to finish the layup through contact, earing the three-point play at the line, as the Bulldogs pushed the margin to six, 35-29. Dove hit yet another three, cutting the Blackbirds' deficit to four, 38-34, but senior Maureen Leahy (Springfield, Pa.) helped the Bulldogs to go ahead eight, 42-34, hitting back-to-back layups with 1:57 remaining in the period. A pair of free throws from Rucker and a Klein layup pushed the Bulldog edge back to double-digits, 46-36, at the close of the quarter.

 After the Bulldogs took a 13-point lead with 6:04 to play off a short corner jumper from freshman Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.), the Blackbirds narrowed the gap back to single digits, 53-44, after Ford hit both free throws with 5:01 to play in the game. The Blackbirds went on a 6-0 run, keeping the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly four minutes, until Olander hit a layup to end the dry spell, as the Bulldogs remained on top, 55-46, with 2:16 to go. The Blackbirds didn't go away down the stretch, forcing the Bulldogs to hit free throws, as they made baskets on the offensive end, including another three by Dove to cut the home team's deficit to seven, 60-53, with 0:11 on the clock. Rucker closed out the contest with two made free throws, as the Bulldogs pulled out the 62-53 victory.

The Black and Gold now turn their attention to Monday, as they host Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m. in the Bulldogs' senior day game.