Watch: AmericaEast.TV
Live Stats: UNHWildcats.com
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FULL GAME NOTES
ON TAP AT LUNDHOLM GYMNASIUM
The Bryant University women's basketball team will look to snap a three-game skid when it heads to Durham, N.H., for a New Year's Eve showdown with the New Hampshire Wildcats, Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Wednesday will mark the final non-conference game for both Bryant and New Hampshire.
THE SERIES
Wednesday will mark just the third meeting between Bryant and UNH with the Bulldogs holding a 2-0 all-time record vs. the Wildcats dating back to the 2008-09 season. The two teams last faced off on Dec. 1, 2013 in Smithfield with Black and Gold narrowly escaping with a 67-61 victory behind a game-high 17 points and eight assists from Jenniqua Bailey.
Prior to last season, Bryant and UNH have played each other just one other time -- on Nov. 14, 2008, marking the Bulldogs' first-ever contest as a Division I program (Bryant won 69-66).
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
New Hampshire enters Wednesday's showdown with an 8-3 overall record coming off three-straight wins, most recently knocking off Manhattan on Sunday, 58-54. UNH is 4-1 at home this season with its lone loss coming at the hands of Central Connecticut, 64-58, on Nov. 30.
After going 19-12 and advancing to the America East Tournament Semifinals a season ago, the Wildcats were selected to finish third in the 2014-15 AE Preseason Poll. Through 11 games this season, junior guard Elizabeth Belanger leads the team with 15.6 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds per game. Seniors Ariel Gaston and Kaylee Kilpatrick round on the UNH double-digit scorers with each putting up 11.2 ppg. Gaston also leads the team in rebounds (7.2 rpg) and assists (3.1 apg).
LAST TIME OUT
The Bryant University women's basketball team fell to Rhode Island, 60-56, Sunday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.
The Rams' (8-3) methodical pace and tough-nosed defense were too much for the Bulldogs (6-4) to overcome as they drop their third-straight heading into another lengthy break.
Sophomore center Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) led the Bulldogs with a career-high 16 points to go along with nine boards, while junior forward Breanna Rucker(Cincinnati, Ohio) put up 12 points and 11 rebounds in 37 minutes.
Senior point guard Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) finished with 14 points, eight assists and three rebounds, while Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) registered seven points in just 26 minutes.
URI freshman Charise Wilson finished with a game-high 24 points and five boards with Symone Bullard and Tayra Melendez combining for 21 to round out the URI double-digit scorers.
MILESTONE WATCH
Averaging 16 points per game this season, senior point guard Jenniqua Bailey enters Wednesday's contest needing just two points to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Bailey would become the 22nd player in program history to reach the milestone and just the third to do so all at the Division I level.
MORE MORGAN
Sophomore center Morgan Olander put up a career-high 16 points to go along with nine rebounds in Bryant's Dec. 21 loss to URI. Olander is averaging career-highs in points (11.0), rebounds (8.9), and minutes (32.2) this season and ranks third in the Northeast Conference in rebounding.
WRAPPING UP NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
Wednesday vs. UNH will mark the final non-conference game on Bryant's 2014-15 regular season schedule. Last season, the Bulldogs posted a 5-6 non-conference record through the end of December.
AND THE AWARD GOES TO…
The Bryant women's basketball program has been well represented on the Northeast Conference weekly awards this season with a Bulldog earning either Player of the Week or Rookie of the Week honors in four of the first five weeks. Most recently, Ivory Bailey's 18.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 3.0 spg vs. Holy Cross and Cornell earned her the dual honor of Player and Rookie of the Week on Dec. 8. Last season, Bryant did not receive a single NEC weekly honor.
STARTING FIVE
All five Bulldog starters (Jenniqua Bailey, Tiersa Winder, Ivory Bailey, Breanna Rucker, and Morgan Olander) are averaging at least 10 points per game enter Wednesday's game and all rank in the top 17 in the Northeast Conference in scoring, making Bryant the lone team to accomplish that feat.
WINDEX
Always among the top rebounding teams in the Northeast Conference, Bryant once against sits near the top in almost every rebounding category in the NEC rankings. Outrebounding opponents by an average margin of 7.2 rpg (first in NEC), the Bulldogs have outrebounded the opposition in nine of 10 games this season, averaging nearly 43 rpg (also first in NEC).
DROPPIN' DIMES
Senior point guard Jenniqua Bailey dished out a career-high nine assists on Dec. 6 at Cornell and currently ranks second in the Northeast Conference in assists per game with 6.1. The senior has handed out at least eight helpers in four contests this season and needs just 55 assists to get 400 for her career.
WELCOME TO THE CENTURY CLUB
Senior point guard Jenniqua Bailey appeared in her 100th career game on Nov. 30 vs. PC, becoming just the eighth player in Division I program history to do so. Bailey, currently at 103 career games, is within reach of breaking the all-time program record for games played in a career (121), a mark currently held by Dede Fogarty (2001-05).
DO YOU EVEN BENCH?
The Bryant women's basketball team is still in search of some offensive production from its bench, which has scored just 62 points through nine games this season (6.2 ppg). The Bulldogs' bench has accounted for just 8.5 percent of total scoring this season.
BAILEY DROPS 35
Senior point guard Jenniqua Bailey put up a career-high 35 points on 11-of-14 shooting in the Nov. 30 win over Providence College. The 35 points marks the most since Courtney Schissler's 36 points at Saint Francis U. on Jan. 13, 2014 and is tied for the fifth most points in a single game in program history.
TICKET TO THE RIDE
Single-game and season ticket packages are still available for the 2014-15 men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant Athletics Ticket Office at 401-519-TIXX.
CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME?
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference have partnered with Pack Network to create NEC Front Row, the home for all NEC men's and women's basketball broadcasts in 2014-15. Visit www.NECFrontRow.com for more information and a schedule of events.
