SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team is hitting the road once more, this time heading north. The Blackbirds (4-11, 2-2 NEC) will travel to Smithfield, R.I. for a Saturday afternoon contest against the league-leading Bryant Bulldogs (7-8, 4-0 NEC). Tip-off in the Chace Athletic Center is slated for 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT• LIU is coming off of a close loss to fellow league-leader Robert Morris (4-0 NEC). The Blackbirds threatened the Colonials until the last possession, but fell, 52-49 in the Steinberg Wellness Center Monday night.
• Sophomore
Paris Jones led LIU with 13 points and a career-high six rebounds.Senior
Shanice Vaughan added 12 points, six assists, and three steals. Junior
Shanovia Dove came close to a double-double, with 10 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore
DeAngelique Waithe had 10 rebounds and seven points.
• The Blackbirds out-rebounded the Colonials 42-29 in the loss.
ALL-TIME SERIES• Bryant leads the all time series between the two teams, 7-3, having won the last five straight. LIU hasn't beaten the Bulldogs since 2012.
• Last year, Bryant beat LIU 79-66 in Brooklyn and in overtime during a blizzard, 88-85.
• In the OT loss at Bryant,
Brianna Farris had 15 points, while
Shanice Vaughan had ten points, four rebounds and four assists.
DeAngelique Waithe had a career-high 14 points, going 7-for-11 from the field. She also led the team with eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Bryant returns three of the top scorers from that game. Breanna Rucker had 24 points and 17 rebounds, Tiersa Winder added 20 points, Morgan Olander had 19 points, and Ivory Bailey had 15.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS• Bryant is one of the only two remaining teams in the Northeast Conference without a loss. The Bulldogs are 7-8 overall, and tied for first with Robert Morris, both a perfect 4-0.
• The Bulldogs have dominated in the early NEC season, beating each of their first four opponents by 11 points or more. Bryant has defeated CCSU (70-56), FDU (70-41), Wagner (82-71) and Mount St. Mary's (70-59), with the last three wins coming on the road.
• Bryant backs up that record statistically as well. The Bulldogs are the top rebounding team in the conference, with a +10.5 rebounding margin. They're also second in the league in field goal percentage (.405), free throw percentage (.737) and assists per game (14.6). They're third in the conference in scoring as well, averaging 66.1 points per game.
• The Bulldogs have a power trio back, including the 2014-15 NEC Player and Rookie of the Year. Senior forward Breanna Rucker, the defending NEC Player of the Year and a preseason All-NEC honoree, has continued her success into her senior season. She leads the Bulldogs with a 13.2 points per game average, and leads the conference with 11.1 rebounds per game. She's notched eight double-doubles so far this season. Rucker also averages a team-high 1.6 steals per game, and is shooting 84.9 percent from the free throw line.
• Backing Rucker up are two guards who also put up big points: senior Tiersa Winder averages 12.6 points per game and 2.4 assists per game, and the defending NEC Rookie of the Year, sophomore Ivory Bailey, adds 12.5 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, and 1.5 steals per game.