PISCATAWAY, N.J. – In one of the program's biggest tests, the Bryant University women's basketball team held its own against Rutgers, but after facing two low-performing quarters, the Bulldogs were unable to hang on, losing, 50-42, on Sunday afternoon at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

In the first quarter alone, the Bulldogs (3-2) shot 16.7 percent (2-12) from the field, scoring just six points to the Scarlet Knights' (1-5) 11. The Black and Gold bounced back to go 7-for-15 (46.7%) in the second quarter, giving them a 23-22 edge at halftime. The hot shooting was short lived as Bryant connected on only one field goal in the third period, totaling a season-low four points, while the Scarlet Knights shot 50 percent from the floor (7-14) in the third, giving the hosts a commanding 37-27 lead after 30 minutes. The Bulldogs ultimately outscored the Scarlet Knights, 15-13, in the fourth quarter, but the deficit proved to be too much, as Rutgers defeated Bryant, 50-42, in its first win of the season.

The game began scoreless for 4:10, but sophomore Kierra Palmer (Aberdeen, Md.) broke the dry spell to put the Bulldogs on the board first, 1-0, when she hit 1-of-2 from the line. Bryant followed up with a foul line jumper in transition, as Palmer hit junior Ivory Bailey (Wyomissing, Pa.) up the wing, who found senior Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) for the made basket to push Bryant's lead to three with 5:17 to go in the first. The Scarlet Knights got on the board with a drive and finish in the lane with 3:34 to play in the opening quarter, 3-2. After Bailey's offensive rebound and put-back on the ensuing possession, the Scarlet Knights went on a 10-1 run to close out the first with an 11-6 advantage.

After an Ashli Jeune jumper to start the second, it was all Bryant through the next four minutes, as the Bulldogs recaptured the lead and earned a five-point advantage off a 12-0 run, 18-13. The Bryant scoring stretch included threes by both Bailey and Palmer, as the team finished 3-of-8 from deep in the first half. After over a three-minute lead by the Bulldogs, the Scarlet Knights fought their way back to tie the contest, 18-18, off a pair of free throws from Khadaizha Sanders with 3:26 to play in the second. A Klein layup would tie the contest for the third time, 20-20, before Bailey's second three of the game gave Bryant a 23-22 edge heading into the break.

The Bulldogs and Scarlet Knights started the second half by trading buckets, altering the lead change three times, before Rutgers was able to string together two-straight baskets off a layup from Desiree Keeling and a baseline jumper from Kandiss Barber, 28-25, with 5:44 to play in the third. Barbers short-corner bucket made her the first player to reach double-digits in the contest, as she finished the game with 14 points. After an Olander free throw, 28-26, the Scarlet Knights went on a 4-0 run, in which they scored all four points off Bryant turnovers. Freshman Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) broke the Bulldogs' three and a half minute dry spell by hitting 1-of-2 from the free throw line to pull Bryant within five, 32-27 (1:12). With just 1.2 seconds remaining in the period, Jeune hit a three off the inbounds play to give Rutgers their first double-digit lead of the game, 37-27.

The Scarlet Knights built on their lead in the fourth, finding a game-high 12-point edge, 41-29, off a Keeling layup with 7:19 to play. Olander become the first Bryant player to reach double-digit points as she moved to 11 after back-to-back Bryant scores, including a jumper from the elbow that narrowed Rutgers lead back to 10, 41-31, with 6:40 to go. Out of the media timeout, Bailey knocked down her third triple of the contest from the top of the key to cut the margin to seven, 41-34. The Black and Gold continued their two-minute run after junior Naomi Ashley (Pickering, Ont.) hit a lefty layup in transition, before senior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) finished the lay-in, following a Rutgers' shot clock violation. Bailey continued to stay hot from downtown, knocking down her fourth three to pull Bryant within two, 43-41, with 3:09 to play. Down the stretch, the Bulldogs couldn't execute and back-to-back Rutgers' buckets, including a last second three by Sanders, helped the Scarlet Knights find their first win of the season, 50-42.

Bailey and Barber led the game with 14 points, respectively. Bailey finished 5-for-18 from the field and 4-for-9 from three, while grabbing eight rebounds, five of which were on the offensive end. Bailey was backed by Olander's 11 points, as she hit 5-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. Jeune also tallied 11 points for the Scarlet Knights as she connected on 5-of-13 from the floor and 1-of-5 from behind the arc.

In sticking to their principles, the Bulldogs out-rebounded the Scarlet Knights, 39-32, led by Klein's 11 boards. Bryant committed three more turnovers than Rutgers, 21-18, dished out four less assists, 18-14, and three less blocks, 4-1. Although the Scarlet Knights tallied three more steals than the Bulldogs, the Black and Gold's 10 takeaways marked a season high.

Continuing with their tough nonleague schedule, the Bulldogs return to Rhode Island to face off against Providence in the first annual Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m.