Holy Cross up next for women's basketball

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University women's basketball travels to Worcester, Massachusetts, on Sunday for a Sunday afternoon matchup with the Crusaders of Holy Cross. Tip-off is set for 12:05 p.m. and the game will be played at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex.

THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Holy Cross
Game Time: Sunday, Nov. 26 – 12:05 p.m.
Watch Live: Patriot League Network
Live Stats: GoHolyCross.com
Game Notes: Bryant | Holy Cross

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross comes into Sunday's game with a 2-2 record on the season. The Crusaders last played on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when they traveled to Hofstra, falling to the Pride by a score of 69-63.

Holy Cross is led by Lauren Manis, who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, as well as assists per game. Manis currently has season averages of 21.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Infiniti Thomas-Waheed is second on the team in both scoring and rebounding, coming into the game vs. Bryant with averages of 20.0 points and 6.8 rebounds over the team's first four games.

The Crusaders are coached by Bill Gibbons, who is in his 33rd season at the helm of the Holy Cross program. Gibbons is coming off of an 8-22 season in 2016-17 and has led the Crusaders to a 581-361 record during his time in Worcester.

SERIES HISTORY vs. HOLY CROSS
Sunday marks the 10th game all-time between Holy Cross and Bryant, having met every season since Bryant became a Division I program ahead of the 2008-2009 season. Currently, Holy Cross leads the series, 6-3, over the Bulldogs.

NOTHING CAN STOP ME, I'M HOLLOWAY UP
After being named to the NEC All-Rookie team last season, sophomore Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) started up right where she left off at Brown, where she led Bryant with 19 points and nine rebounds. She earned her first double-double of the season last time out at Maine, scoring 19 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

BUDDING STAR
After a breakout season in 2016-17, redshirt-junior Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) has been a force for the Bryant Bulldogs through the early stages of the season. Ashley was a rebound shy of a double-double against Boston College, going for 12 points and nine rebounds. In the team's second game, Ashley scored eight points and pulled down six boards off the glass, also coming away with three steals.

DROPPING DIMES
Junior Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) led the NEC in assists last season, totaling 155 on the season (4.8/game). In 2017-18, Palmer had a season-best nine assists when the University of New Hampshire Wildcats visited the Chace Athletic Center on Nov. 21.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Bulldogs went 12-2 inside the Chace Athletic Center last season and had the best home winning percentage in the NEC. In the past three seasons, the women's basketball team has a .761 home winning percentage, going 35-11 in that span. The three occupants of the Chace Athletic Center - Bryant's men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams - went a combined 31-10 (.756) on the floor in Smithfield in 2016-17 and 21-4 (.840) in NEC play.

SHARPSHOOTER
Junior Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) was third in the NEC last season in 3-point field goal percentage. Connors was 39.9% from long range last season, behind only Robert Morris' Megan Smith (46.5%) and Sacred Heart's Shelby Hickey (40%). In the NEC Semifinal win over SHU, Connors was 5-5 from downtown and finished the game with 17 points, which tied a career high.

BOARDING SCHOOL
Bryant led the Northeast Conference in rebounds last season, crashing the glass and collecting 1,274 boards. The Bulldogs held opponents to 1,089 rebounds over the course of the season, which equated to a difference of 5.8 per game in Bryant's favor. They outrebounded opponents in 23 of the 32 games played last season.

OCEAN STATE TIP-OFF
For the second consecutive season, Bryant will compete in the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament. The tournament pits the four Rhode Island Division I basketball schools against each other, with Bryant facing Rhode Island on Dec. 2 and the winner of Brown and Providence on Dec. 3. Head coach Mary Burke also participated in a Coaches Clinic on Nov. 1 to help promote the event with local youth basketball programs.

BAKERS DOZEN
Bryant will play 13 regular-season home games, beginning with the home opener against New Hampshire on Nov. 21. They also will host Boston University (Nov. 29), Binghamton (Dec. 7),  and Hartford (Dec. 10), as well as all NEC opponents.

POWER FIVE DRAW
When Bryant opened the season at Boston College, it marked the eighth time over the past five years that the Bulldogs have played a team in one of the Power-5 conferences. Last season, Bryant played at Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Providence and opened the season at Seton Hall in 2015.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Bryant is scheduled to play six schools that made national postseason appearances last season. Robert Morris received a bid into the NCAA Tournament, while Sacred Heart, New Hampshire, and James Madison all participated in the WNIT. Saint Francis U and Brown were both selected to participate in the WBI.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Bryant finished 11-7 in NEC regular-season games last season, which was the fourth-straight season finishing above .500 in conference play. In home games versus NEC opponents, Bryant was 8-1 last season and is 31-16 inside the Chace Athletic Center in the regular season going back the previous five seasons.

EVERSON NAMED CAPTAIN
Bryant senior Kathleen Everson (Farmingville, N.Y.) was named a captain ahead of the 2017-18 season by head coach Mary Burke. Everson, a forward from Farmingville, New York, has averaged 5.4 points per game this season, setting new career highs in points on two occasions.