Rucker, Bailey, Winder and Palmer earn All-NEC honors
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Four members of the Bryant University women's basketball team have garnered postseason honors from the Northeast Conference as the league unveiled its yearly awards on Friday morning via Twitter.
The Bulldogs placed a member on all four teams that were announced Friday, including senior Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio), who earned First Team All-NEC, sophomore Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.), a Second Team All-NEC selection, senior Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) a third team honoree and freshman Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.), who was named to the NEC All-Rookie Team.
Rucker followed up her standout junior season with a very successful senior campaign, reaching both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her four years in Black and Gold. Reaching both milestones in her career marks only the second time a Bulldog has done so in Division I. The power forward leads the Bulldogs offensively, averaging 15.5 points per game, while also raking in a team-high 11.1 rebounds per outing. Rucker has recorded 19 double-doubles this season, finding double-digits in the respective categories in the last 10-straight games. The Cincinnati native's double-double performances have earned her first in the league and sixth in the nation. Rucker also possesses four top-100 national rankings, including 4.6 offensive rebounds per game which ranks her fourth nationally.
Bailey proved to be an asset both offensively and defensively for the Bulldogs this season, averaging 11.2 points per game, while pulling down 6.1 rebounds per contest at the guard position. The 2015 NEC Rookie of the Year occupies nine conference rankings, placing fourth with a .846 free throw percentage. The guard averages 2.7 assists per game, 1.7 steals per showing, while shooting 24.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arc.
As a leader for the Bulldogs, Winder earns All-NEC honors despite missing the final month of the season with an injury. She is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13 points in her 22 appearances this year. The sharp shooter finished the regular season ranked fifth in minutes played (34.36) and ninth in 3-point field goals made (1.82). This season, Winder broke the program's Division I record for career-threes made, totaling 141 in her four-years at Bryant. The senior scored double figures in 15 games this season, including a season-high 27 points against Saint Francis U. (Jan. 25), when she hit 10-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-8 from 3-point land. Winder stroked a season-best four threes on three different occasions, opening up the inside for the Bulldogs and forcing defenders to guard her behind the arc.
Leading the NEC in assists in conference games (5.06), Palmer led the Bulldogs in transition with her pin-point passing and ability to create in open space. Palmer also sits atop the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.60 in conference play. On the season, the freshman averaged a team-high 3.9 helpers, totaling five or more assists on eight occasions, including four-straight games above the mark. Palmer set a new Division I program record, dishing out 14 helpers against Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 20), which placed her just one shy of the all-time record. The Maryland native grabbed NEC Rookie of the Week in the final week of the regular season after posting an average of seven assists and 6.5 points. Palmer averages 4.9 points per game, finding a career-high 15 against Saint Francis U. (Jan. 25).
The NEC honorees, along with their fellow Bulldogs will be put to the test in the postseason, beginning NEC Tournament play on Sunday, as they host seventh-seeded LIU Brooklyn in a 1 p.m. tip.