SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University women's basketball team continues its Pennsylvania tour, tipping off at Saint Francis U. on Monday at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES
THE SERIES
This contest marks the 14th meeting between the Bulldogs and Red Flash with the series in Bryant's favor, 7-6.
SCOUTING THE RED FLASH
The Red Flash enter Monday's game on a five-game winning streak, most recently handing then-undefeated Central Connecticut its first conference loss of the season, 87-81. Saint Francis U. now sits tied at the top of the league at 6-1 with the team's only loss coming at Sacred Heart, 73-63.
The Red Flash have the league's highest powered offense, averaging 79.2 points per game. On the flip side, SFU allows nearly just as many points, allowing its opponents to outscore them by 0.7 points through 18 games.
Saint Francis U. owes a lot of its offensive production to reigning NEC Rookie of the Year and a Preseason All-NEC Selection Jessica Kovatch. The guard is fresh off a 45-point performance in the Red Flash's win over CCSU and averages a league-high 22.3 points per game off 42.2 percent from the floor, 37.6 percent from three and 77.9 percent from the line. With at least 11 games to go in her sophomore season, Kovatch already totals over 1,000 points, scoring double figures in every game this season and 20+ points on 11 occurrences.
COLD SHOOTING
After shooting 50.o percent from the floor off 23-for-46 against Wagner, the Bulldogs finished 28.9 percent from the field off 13-of-45. The 13 field goals marks the Bulldogs' fewest made field goals this season and the first time since hitting 13 at Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 4, 2016.
<30%
Bryant is 0-2 when shooting less than 30.0 percent from the floor. Both losses have come in conference play against Saint Francis Brooklyn and Robert Morris.
<50
The Bulldogs are 0-3 when scoring less than 50 points in a contest. The three losses have come at Rutgers, St. Francis Brooklyn and Robert Morris.
DOUBLE FIGURES
For the first time this season, the Bulldogs recorded only one player in double figures. Senior Alex Klein scored 16 points in Bryant's 62-46 loss at Robert Morris. On the other hand, the Bulldogs are 1-0 when five players finished in double figures.
MONDAY FUNDAY
Heading into Monday's game at St. Francis U., the Bulldogs have resisted the Monday blues, going 3-0 on the first work day of the week.
OUTREBOUNDED BY OPPONENT
For the third-straight game and fourth time this season, the Bulldogs were outrebounded by Robert Morris, 37-36. This season, Bryant is 1-3 when grabbing less boards than its opponents.
GIVEAWAYS
The Bulldogs average 20.7 turnovers a game, giving up a season-high 29 at Robert Morris. The Black and Gold have coughed up the ball 20+ times on 12 occasions. This season, the Bulldogs have given up 22.4 points per game off turnovers, allowing a season-high 31 against Maine. The Black and Gold average 12.6 points per game off opponents' giveaways, including a season-high 24 against Vermont.
DRY SPELLS
Most recently, the Bulldogs suffered a number of droughts at Robert Morris, suffering a game-long six and a half minutes scoreless stretch. Bryant went did not score for five minutes in the fourth quarter against Sacred Heart and scored only eight points in the third quarter. In their NEC season debut, the Bulldogs went scoreless for much of the second quarter in which they shot a season-low 7.1 percent from the floor. During the dry spell, St. Francis Brooklyn went on a 16-0 run to take a commanding 31-11 halftime lead. Maine combined its three 13+ runs for 40 points, ultimately holding the Bulldogs scoreless for 13:46 during the three stretches. Bryant was held scoreless for 6:21 at Massachusetts, the longest stretch this season. The Bulldogs faced a number of major dry spells from the field at Pitt, including 8:31 in the second quarter without a field goal in which the Black and Gold turned the ball over eight times. In the third, the Black and Gold went 3:18 without a bucket from the floor, before facing a seven-minute stint without a made basket from the end of the third into the start of the fourth. Freshman Stephanie Lesko's last-minute three ended the Bulldogs 4:02 field goal-less stretch to end the fourth.
