Watch: NECfrontrow.com
Live Stats: CCSUBlueDevils.com
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FULL GAME NOTES
ON TAP AT DETRICK GYMNASIUM
The Bryant University women's basketball team looks for its sixth-straight victory when it heads to New Britain, Conn., for a showdown with the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils, Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
THE SERIES
The two teams enter Saturday's game knotted up, 6-6, in the all-time series. Last season, the Bulldogs took both games against the Blue Devils, with a 30-point victory in Smithfield before squeaking out a 72-65 win in New Britain. Prior to last season, CCSU had won five of the previous six matchups.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Central Connecticut enters Saturday's matchup with a 7-8 overall record, 3-1 in the Northeast Conference. After a blistering 3-0 start in league play with wins over FDU, Sacred Heart and Robert Morris, the Blue Devils dropped a four-point decision at Mount St. Mary's Monday night. The Blue Devils currently trail the Bulldogs by a game in the NEC standings.
CCSU boasts a balanced offensive attack which includes eight players who average at least five points per game. Led by juniors Tejahne Malone at 9.2 ppg and Kayla Miller at 8.7 ppg, the Blue Devils even eight-man rotation does not see a single player average over 26 minutes per game. Miller leads the team with six boards per contest while Kaley Watras paces the team with 3.6 assists a game off the bench.
As a team, Central Connecticut allows just 64 ppg (second in NEC) and outrebounds opponents by a margin of nearly three caroms per game, second in the league only to Bryant.
4-0 AND IT FEELS SO GOOD
The Black and Gold have opened Northeast Conference play 4-0 for the first time in program history thanks to a scrappy win over Saint Francis U. on Monday. The Bulldogs currently sit alone atop the NEC standings entering a huge matchup at Central Connecticut (3-1) on Saturday.
GOING STREAKING
With five-straight wins under their belt, the Bulldogs have put together their longest win-streak of the 2014-15 season. This marks just the third five-game win streak since the Black and Gold joined the Division I era in 2008. Bryant will look to improve its streak to six games, which would mark the longest winning streak since the 2007-08 season (nine games).
BRYANT SWEEPS NEC WEEKLY AWARDS
Riding another 2-0 weekend, the Bulldogs swept the Northeast Conference weekly awards this Tuesday (Jan. 13) with junior Breanna Rucker earning Player of the Week honor and freshman Ivory Bailey snatching the Rookie of the Week nod. Rucker's second POW honor comes off arguably the best week of her career where she averaged 23.5 ppg and 16 rpg, while Bailey continues to rack up the rookie honors, garnering her fourth such selection with 15.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 3 apg.
RUCKIN' N ROLLIN'
Junior forward Breanna Rucker has been an absolute beast for the Black and Gold this season, posting a career-high 28 points and 16 rebounds in just 27 minutes of action Monday vs. Saint Francis U. Rucker currently ranks first in the NEC in rebounding (11.7 rpg), fifth in scoring (14.7 ppg) and seventh in FG percentage (.453). Rucker's 13 games of 10+ boards also is tops among league opponents, with the nest closest person posting just seven.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Rucker has registered a career-high 12 double doubles through 15 games this season, giving her a total of 22 in her career. Naana Ankoma Mensa ('14) holds the Bryant Division I record for double doubles in a career with 43 and double dips in a season with 18 (2012-13).
MONEY MEL
Senior guard Melissa Corraro added some big time minutes off the bench in Monday's win over Saint Francis U. adding seven points, including knocking down four-of-five from the free throw line, in 19 minutes of action.
WINDEX
Always among the top rebounding teams in the Northeast Conference, Bryant once against sits at the top in almost every rebounding category in the league rankings. Outrebounding opponents by an average margin of 8.6 rpg (first in NEC), the Bulldogs have outrebounded the opposition in all but one contest this season.
In Monday's victory over Saint Francis, the Bulldogs grabbed a season-high 56 rebounds, outboarding the Red Flash by a margin of 30, also a season-high. Led by Breanna Rucker's 16 boards, all five starters recorded at least seven caroms, including a career-high 10 from junior guard Tiersa Winder.
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 six of the first eight weeks. Most recently, junior Breanna Rucker (POW) and freshman Ivory Bailey (ROW) swept the league's weekly awards. 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 Saturday's game, making Bryant the lone team to accomplish that feat.
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.
