Posted: Nov 28, 2018

Bulldogs face Brown for second time at Ocean State Tip Off

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's basketball team competes in the Ocean State Tip-Off this weekend hosted by URI. All four Division I schools in Rhode Island will square off as Bryant is set to meet with Brown for the second time this season at 2 p.m. on Saturday December 1 at the Ryan Center.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Brown is currently 5-4 so far this season most recently topping Johnson & Wales, 78-46, on Tuesday night.

Shayna Mehta currently leads the Bears in scoring averaging 20.5 points a night. During the Bulldogs first meeting with Brown, the Black and Gold held Mehta to just 12 points, one point behind Brown's leading scorer that night.

The Bears are currently 4-4 thus far coming off of a two-game losing streak falling to UMass and Bucknell. Brown is set to play cross-town foe Johnson & Wales on Tuesday before the tournament.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday marks the 13th meeting in history between the two teams with Brown leading the series 7-5. The Bulldogs topped Brown earlier this season 75-57 in Bryant's home opener.

OCEAN STATE TIP-OFF
For the third 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 Brown for the second time of the season on Dec. 1. The Bulldogs will meet with either Providence or Rhode Island on Dec. 2.

BULLDOGS NEWS AND NOTABLES
The Bulldogs fell to New Hampshire, 79-74, on Sunday afternoon.

Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) led Bryant with a career-high 20 points shooting .500 from the field and from behind the arc.

Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) compiled her fourth double double of the year, 23rd of her career, with 15 points and 11 rebounds against the Wildcats.

DROPPING DIMES
Kierra Palmer led the Bulldogs in their season opener at UMass Lowell with nine assists. She currently leads the Bulldogs with 29 assists so far on the season.

Palmer led the NEC in assists last season for the second year in a row, totaling 132 on the season (5.3/game).

PICKING POCKETS
This season, senior Kierra Palmer leads Bryant with ten steals as she compiled a season-high of three at West Virginia.

Naomi Ashley (Hamilton, Ont.) led the NEC in steals per game last season swiping almost three a game. Compiling 83 steals for the season, Ashley is ranked third all-time at Bryant for steals in a season and second all-time for steals in a game as she stole a career high of nine.

BOARDING SCHOOL
After the first five games of the 2018-19 season, Bryant has out-rebounded all of their opponents except for West Virginia where the Black and Gold matched the Mountaineers with 37 rebounds a piece. Sydney Holloway leads the Bulldogs with 60 total rebounds which ranks her first in the conference and tenth in the country.

Bryant led the Northeast Conference in rebound margin and was second in rebounds last season, out-rebounding its opponents by 2.7 rebounds a game. The Bulldogs held opponents to 1,127 rebounds over the course of the season and outrebounded opponents in 20 of the 29 games.

CONNORS FOR THREE
Senior Haley Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) is back as Bryant's top three-point threat in 2018-19. Connors made four three-pointers in back-to-back games to kick-off the 2018-19 season. The senior guard scored her career-high of 18 points against Brown.

Connors led the Bulldogs with 29 3s last season and made a career-high 42 as a sophomore in 2016-17. The senior sank 4 against UMass Lowell with a three-point percentage of 57.1%.

ENERGY OFF THE BENCH
Most recently, Brooke Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) scored a season-high of 10 points at New Hampshire while coming off the bench, shooting a taem-high of 62.5% from the field. The sophomore also grabbed five rebounds.

Stephanie Lesko (Rumson, N.J.) scored a career-high of 13 points against Maine on November 13. Lesko came off the bench in the second quarter and scored 13 consecutive points for the Bulldogs as she went a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc in that quarter.

UP NEXT: URI/PROVIDENCE
The Bulldogs will play either URI or Providence on Sunday December 2 depending on the outcome of Saturday's game. The consolation game is set for 12 p.m. and the championship game at 2 p.m. at the Ryan Center.